I Take What I Want
by LittlexSister
Summary: The last time Garett had a 'student' it ended badly. But as he gets dragged into things he doesn't mean to an aspiring thief forces him to train her. He fears he will create another Erin, but Alia is different. He finds himself enjoying his time with her. When Erin finds out her old master has a new student things go from bad to worse. Garret/OC. Rated M for reasons
1. Chapter 1

Okay! So here's my Thief story! I'm going to try to work my way up to the events in the newest Thief game and go from there. Certain things may get changed or tweaked for the stories sake but please don't hate me for it. Also, just going to go ahead and put it out there, I'm not a huge fan of Erin. So she will probably not fair too well in this story, if you couldn't tell by the description. This is rated M for future gore and smutty smut.

Chapter 1: The Job

The night was crisp and cool as the city prepared for yet another festival. That's all they seemed to do anymore. They had a party for every season, every constellation, every birthday for the rich hoity-toity's with the spare gold to throw around. He scoffed from his perch on a rooftop; the shadows from the chimney hiding him from view. He watched them for only a moment longer before turning and making his way to the inn four streets over. There was a visiting noble from another town he didn't care about, but nobles often like to show off their wealth, so even someone just popping in for a visit would have some valuables laying around.

He crossed the road from overhead via a thin, long board and approached a window. He crouched down and peeked through the dirty glass. It was clear. He jammed his window hook into the bottom of the pane and pushed down, the leverage popping the lock relatively easily. He slipped in silently, and though this wasn't exactly the room he was looking for, whoever was staying here had a few nice things too. He rummaged through the drawers quickly taking anything he found with value and worth his time. A silver pen, a gold watch and cufflinks, some jewelry.

What stopped him were soft footsteps coming up the nearby stairs. He froze, listening to see if those feet were headed his way. He rolled his eyes. Of course they were. Quick as a flash he waved his hands over the candles to extinguish them and shut himself in the wardrobe. The slats in the wood allowed him to see the young girl open the door and quietly shut it behind her. She had long, wavy hair that was somewhere in between a deep red and dark brown and her eyes were the color of cold steel. Her lack of jewelry and dirty clothes told him she wasn't a noble. Petty thief maybe?

She didn't light the candles which was the first thing that piqued his interest. She moved frantically in the darkness, looking in the drawers he had already cleared, under the bed in a few boxes, and on the vanity that was already stripped. She was trying to be quiet, but compared to him she was about as stealthy as a bull in a china shop.

"Where is it?" She cursed to herself. Her eyes scanned the room and stopped on the wardrobe. He could see the cogs turning in her head as she approached the door. He pulled his cowl up tighter on his face, every muscle in his body tightened, waiting for the precise moment. Just as her hand reached for the knob he threw the door open, causing her to fall backwards onto the floor. He covered her mouth with his hand and pinned her body down with his.

"Scream and I'll kill you." He growled. She nodded her head beneath his hand slowly, her intense eyes never leaving his. "You're going to close your eyes and count to five. When you open them I'll be gone, and this never happened. Got it?"

Before he could get a response from her, there was a loud knock at the door. "Room cleaning." A tired voice said from the other side. He missed the sounds of the footsteps from knocking the girl to the floor. His eyes darted to her and he quickly hauled her to her feet and got behind her. He curled his fist in her hair and pulled a sharp dagger from his belt and held it to her neck. "Tell them to go away." He snarled in her ear. He preferred not to use violence, especially on women, but if this got him out cutting her throat and stuffing her body in the wardrobe he felt it beneficial to both parties.

"No thanks! Come back in the morning." The girl said. Though her eyes were filled with fear her voice was clear and smooth, void of anything that would rise suspicion.

He heard the footsteps and the soft creaking of old cleaning cart wheels leaving down the hall. "Good girl." He whispered. He felt her shiver in his hands. He waiting for silence before shoving her forward. She hit her knees and before she could spin around he was back out the window he came in and flying across the rooftops, putting as much space as he could between himself and the inn.

Three days passed before Garett decided to leave his clock tower again. The things he had gotten from the wrong room paid off decently, but he needed more if he was going to get the parts to keep the clock running.

The rumor was that the clock tower was haunted. It had been broken for years before it suddenly started working again, and it kept working with no one going in or out or making any repairs or maintenance. The superstition kept the guards and citizens away. And he didn't mind the work if it paid for his privacy.

He waited for night fall and made his way to the Crippled Burrick. He slipped in through the window and climbed into the rafters, watching Basso get nervous always got a smirk out of him. The round man was the closest thing he had to what some people might label a 'friend'.

"Basso." He sniggered from his perch.

The man jumped in surprise when he looked up to see the masked thief up in the ceiling. "Garett, you taffer! How many times to I have to ask you to use the damned door?" He leaned against a shelf to calm his racing heart and shook his head while Garett seemed to float down silently from above.

"I don't like doors." He said absent mindedly, looking around the room.

"I suppose you're here for a job?"

"I suppose I am."

"Well then." Basso said, straightening his belt. "I've got just the thing. The Thief Taker General is overseeing the preparations for some big noble's party at that new pub down by The City Bank this weekend, as a personal favor to the Baron." He shuffled around some books and papers, looking for something specific. "And on his person, he will have a certain ring that carries the Baron's seal that dons all the Baron's documents and orders. My client wants it for forging papers to-"

"Don't care." Garett interrupted. "I don't like politics." He mused. "I only care about the pay. The clock's springs are getting rusty and they'll break soon if I don't replace them. The last thing I need is having some mechanic stumble into my traps and get his head cut off"

Basso chuckled at him. "It's good to know that the people that matter don't change." He handed him a parchment with a roughly drawn map on it. "I don't know how you'll get it from him, but if anyone can do it I guess it's you, Master Thief."

Garett took the map and looked it over. He looked Basso in the eyes and nodded. "I'll be back." He said simply and turned to leave.

"Use the door, Garett!" He called after him, knowing full well that he wouldn't.

The weekend of the Thief Taker General's visit and Garett was still without a solid plan. He had the place scoped. Getting in or out wasn't the problem. It was getting that ring off the General. He groaned in frustration as he watched the various maids and kitchen workers going in and out. Soon the Madame of the Blooming Rose would be stopping by with the girls so the choices could be made on 'entertainment'. He used the term 'madame' loosely. If he couldn't figure anything out tonight that meant breaking into the General's house. And he would rather strike here where it was safer with civilians than a manor full of armed guards. Thieves and swords didn't get along.

As he scanned the people he was surprised to see a familiar face. The girl from the inn was wearing a serving uniform and helping carry tables and chairs into the main hall of the pub. He didn't know why he remembered her, just that he did. For whatever reason he decided to watch her, thinking that maybe he could use her. She seemed pretty level headed at the inn. And if she was a petty thief, well, if she scratched his back maybe he would scratch hers somewhere down the road. A pretty girl like herself would have a much easier time getting close to the General than he would, especially surrounded by people.

As he made up his mind he pulled his cowl over his face and swooped down from the rooftop and tailed her, waiting to catch her alone. His opportunity came while everyone else was decorating she was in the kitchens, hauling large, heavy cast iron pots onto the stoves. He was impressed with her strength. She stopped for a moment and put her hands on her hips, taking a quick break from the labor.

"Hello again." He purred from the shadows.

She whipped around quickly, her eyes darting to every shadow. He almost chuckled. She had passed over him twice and didn't see him. She backed up to the stove, her eyes narrowing. "Who's there?" She said in that smooth, even tone.

He emerged from the shadows, keeping a safe distance between them. Her grey eyes widened. "Don't scream." He warned, his hand hovering threateningly over his dagger.

"It's you." She hissed.

"It's me." He said. "I would say sorry for soiling your plans back at the inn, but I'm a thief, not a liar." He picked up an apple out of the basket and turned it around in his hands.

"What are you doing here?" She asked. The smoothness in her voice quivered, her tough act was failing her. "What do you want?"

"A favor." He said simply.

"Oh well sure thing buddy ol' pal. Anything to help a friend!" She threw her hands up incredulously. Her sarcasm surprised him.

"The Thief Taker General will be here tonight. He has the baron's ring and I need it." He said, trying to stay on track. He only had so much time.

She scoffed. "What's in it for me?" She crossed her arms in front of her.

"The Master Thief Garret will owe you one favor." He said, taking a bite from the apple.

"Well the not-so-master thief Alia can't pay her rent with favors." She chided at him with a raised eyebrow.

"So you are a thief." He said, amused.

"Aspiring." She admitted, looking at the ground. "Working for money honestly doesn't pay jack shit. So I decided to work more _dis_ honestly. You feel me?"

"Is that why you're dressed as a servant?" He said mockingly.

She glared at him. "That's why I said 'aspiring', you ass." He was admittedly entertained by her attitude and foul mouth. All of a sudden a sly grin spread across her face. "I have an idea. I help you, you train me."

He stopped mid chew and locked eyes with her. "No." He said harshly. He remembered what happened with Erin and he wasn't going down that road. Not again.

"Aw come on!" She said pleadingly. "You wouldn't approach me for help if you didn't think I was useless right? I'm pretty decent and I know I can get better!"

He turned on her angrily. "You are a mere convenience. That's it. I don't see anything to you besides a pawn to get my pay, got it?"

Her eyes narrowed. "Good luck getting the ring yourself then, prick. That's my price. Pay it or go fuck yourself." She slid past him and left the kitchen. He cursed himself for losing his temper. If he had just played a little nicer than he could have had her eating out of the palm of his hand until he could find an opportunity to ditch her. He returned to the shadows and climbed into the rafters where he could observe the party from above and hopefully come across a new opportunity.

As the party went on he moved from place to place above the throngs of people. He was trying to come up with a plan, even if it was an improvised one. The General already arrived and was strutting about like a peacock, taking his favor to the baron a little too seriously. The madame had arrived and was parading some of the girls around, the general drooled over the younger ones, as he had a particularly barbaric taste.

"Come here, girl!" He motioned to Alia, who plastered a fake smile on her face and obeyed.

"Yes, my General?" She said with a slight tilt of her head.

The Thief Taker watched her as she approached, his eyes obviously seeing something he liked, which Garett found odd. Alia was built like a woman, not a little girl.

"Now where," The General mused, curling his mustache. "Have they been hiding you?" He looked at her lecherously. "I want something strong to drink." He said, watching her backside for an uncomfortably long time after she accepted her task and headed for the kitchen. She returned a short time later with a cup of wine and a small plate of cakes on a serving tray. He watched as she got closer to the general she tripped and threw the platter all over him.

Garett's eyes narrowed in the darkness of his perch. She tripped on nothing. _Literally_ nothing, she did it on purpose.

"You stupid slut!" The General bellowed as Alia frantically apologized over and over, wiping off his chest and arms with a towel. He reared his hand back as if to strike her. "Get out of my face before I string you up!" And like a flash she was gone and out the door. Only Garett, from his view from above saw the sly smirk on her face as she held the towel close to her chest.

**Okay so there's chapter 1! Please let me know how it is so I have the motivation to keep going. I NEED TO BE CONSTANTLY VALIDATED AND IM SORRY.


	2. Chapter 2

Okay so here is chapter 2. I know it's taking a bit to pick up momentum but I think it's important to try to lay a solid foundation. That's my story and I'm stickin' to it.

Chapter 2: New Apprentice

As soon as she was out the door Alia hit a dead run down the roads. She couldn't be silent, not in the high heels she was wearing, but her servants uniform made her practically invisible to the other citizens of The City. She waited until she was a good way away from the pub, and found a dark alley to stop and catch her breath in. As her heart slowed and her breathing became regular she closed her eyes and listened. There were no shouts for guards or other signs of an uproar. Good. The Thief Taker General hadn't noticed that the ring was gone.

She smirked to herself. She knew the Master Thief was in the rafters, watching everything. She knew that he saw her purposely fall and spill the tray on the Pig General, which means he saw her slide the ring off his fat finger while she wiped down his arm with the towel she now kept pressed to her chest. She undid the folds and gasped. There it was. The Baron's ring. The twirled the delicate little trinket in her fingers. This was her ticket to finally have someone teach her to be a _real_ thief, and a master no less.

She of course had some semblance of natural talent or when she found herself destitute 2 years ago she would have gone to work at the Blooming Rose like all the other down on their luck women. But she found that she was better at stealing valuables then men's affections. And so far she had managed to stay alive with measly pickpocketing and lifting things from people's rooms. But she didn't want to just stay alive. She wanted to _live._ And that meant finding someone that knows the business, to teach her the business. There's only so much you can teach yourself.

She quickly undid the long, thin chain around her neck, looped the ring onto it, and put it back on, hiding her treasure under her clothes and between her breasts. She straightened herself up and emerged from the alley, a broad smile of victory on her face as she made her way back to the bad end of town and to her small apartment. She knew Garrett would catch up to her (if he hadn't already) and probably follow her home, in fact, she was planning on it.

Later on into the night Alia sat on her bed, facing the window and waited. The wind was kicking up, getting ready to bring on the rain. She hoped that he would hurry up or he was going to track water in when he came. Just as she was about to get nervous she saw just a glimpse of a shadow. He was peeking in on her.

"It's open." She called out to him and stood to greet him.

This was the first time she saw him in decent lighting as he stepped over the window pane and into her small room. He was tall, about a foot taller than her. Even under all his leather she could tell he was covered in lean muscle made for quick, silent movements. His dark eyes narrowed under his hood and cowl at her. If she didn't have an image to protect she would have shown that he absolutely terrified her, but if he knew that he would never teach her, and right now he was her only hope.

"Glad you could make it. Have a seat." She said, gesturing to a chair in the corner. His eyes scanned the room, including the chair, but he didn't move.

"Give me the ring." He growled, more annoyed than anything.

She smirked. "You know my price, Garrett." For whatever reason it gave her confidence that she knew his name. Even though he offered her the information back in the kitchens.

His eyes shone in amusement in the candlelight. "I'm a thief. I don't pay for anything."

She raised an eyebrow at him, her steely eyes capturing his. "But you know you messed up, right?" She almost shrunk at his angry gaze, but she knew she had to hold strong if she was going to get what she wanted. "You underestimated me once and it gave me the upper hand. Don't do it again." She tried to sound smooth and confident, and she hoped it was working.

Ever since that night at the inn she couldn't get him out of her head. His skill was so impressive, she never even heard him move back at the inn or the pub. Once he was in the shadows it was like he completely disappeared. He had a skill that she desired. Most girls her age admired rich nobles or famous warriors or beautiful regal women, but here she was, gushing over a master thief that probably saw her as a common cockroach. But she knew deep down if she could just have some proper training she could make even a man like Garrett see her worth.

She could see him turning thoughts over in his head. He crossed his arms over his chest. "How do you know that you can trust the word of a criminal? Let's say I agree to train you, take the ring, and you never see me again?" She couldn't see most of his face but she knew he was snickering at her.

"I guess I don't know. Not for sure. But you said you're a thief, not a liar. And if I hope to be worth anything then I need you to train me. So all I can do is hope that you keep your promises."

Before she could take her next breath he had her pinned to the wall. She had found a small chink in his armor-his pride. He had one hand on her chin and the other held her wrist back. She was right in a sense; he shouldn't have underestimated her. If he hadn't then he wouldn't be in this predicament right now. He was angry; at her, at himself, at this whole fucked situation. She matched his glare as he kept her imprisoned against the wall, he could feel her tensing, she was afraid of him. But he wasn't a murderer and maybe deep down she knew that and that's why she continued to press his buttons.

His eyes slowly drifted from her face to her chest. His hand released her wrists and he trailed his long slender fingers down the pale skin of her neck to the front of her blouse. He saw the rise and fall of her chest quicken at his touch and he would be lying to himself it he said it didn't make him smirk devilishly. He carefully grabbed the chain and gently pulled the ring up from in between her bosom. He had to admit that it was smarter to keep it on her person then to try to hide it where he would most definitely find it.

With a quick jerk of his hand he broke the flimsy chain around her neck. She winced slightly but didn't make a sound besides a sharp inhale. He still held her chin with his other hand and he forced her to look at him.

"Don't look for me. I'll find you. If this is going to happen it will be on _my_ schedule. Got it?" He looked her in the eyes, the blush on her face accenting her cheekbones and pouty mouth. She was pleased. Scared, but pleased.

"You won't regret this. I swear it." She said, barely a whisper. Those grey eyes held his own steadily.

"For your sake, I would hope so." He snarled. He released her and was out the window and into the rain before he could change his mind and decide that yes, just for today he was a murderer, and throw that trouble making woman off the top of his clock tower.

He rushed back to his hideout before the storm got too bad. He didn't have to hide himself so well because everyone, including The Watch, was trying to escape the rain; and that saved him a lot of time. As he dodged his own traps and made his way up to the top of the tower he just got madder and madder at himself. What the hell was he thinking? He shouldn't have told her he would train her. He should have just lied to her. What did he care if one little rat from the slums thought that he was a liar?

He shrugged the quiver off his back and removed his cowl and hood. He ran his fingers through his hair and sighed while sitting on his small bed in the corner. The mechanisms of the giant clock he lived behind creaked as the storm began to hit. Garrett rubbed his eyes, the dawn was going to break soon even if the clouds wouldn't allow it to be seen. And to a thief, the sun and moon are opposites. He was tired and he needed to sleep, he needed to refresh his mind and then maybe he could find some way out of this deal with that woman.

He stripped away his harness, belt, and his shirts, then sat down on the bed to unlace his boots. He threw them one by one on the floor at the foot of his old rickety bed. He should probably take up some odd jobs and get a new one. He swung his legs up and over on to the bed and laced his hands behind his head, looking up at the stone ceiling. He took in a deep breath and held it just a while before letting it out, trying to let the tension in his body leave with it.

He closed his eyes and saw a pair of grey ones staring back at him. They were intense with a hidden fire in them. Then he saw her pouty lips as she gasped when he snapped the chain form her neck. He saw that smirk when she snatched that ring right off the Thief Taker General's hand. He opened his eyes. Now he was just annoyed. But he couldn't deny that she had raw ability. But she was loud, sloppy, and he couldn't see her hands having the dexterity to pick locks.

His chest tightened. What repulsed him most about the idea was that he didn't want a repeat of Erin. He couldn't make another thief out there that was messy and killed people without impunity. Even though the guards and The Watch were technically his enemies, what with them all being on the opposite side of the law as him, they weren't this evil that needed to be extinguished. They were mostly decent people just doing their jobs. Even Garrett could see that. So why couldn't he make Erin see? He knew Erin had problems when he picked her up. He knew she had a deep seeded anger for authority. But he thought she would get over that and she just never did.

But the fire in Alia's eyes wasn't anger, it was something else. Not necessarily any less dangerous, but something much more controlled. He rolled to his side, his thoughts were troubled. Erin turned into a nightmare and he regretted ever taking her in. But Garrett trained her, made her into the monster that she is.

Didn't he?

He closed his eyes again, this time his mind closed off all thoughts and let him slip into the beautiful silence of sleep.

It was four days before he decided to go see Basso again. He had dropped off that ring days ago when he knew his old friend wouldn't be home. He wasn't quite ready to talk about the situation he had gotten himself into. He knew it was bad himself because as well as putting off a face to face he was putting off getting paid. And that's something he just never did.

"Garrett!" Basso greeted him when he saw him emerge from the shadows. "Where the hell have you been? I got the ring but you never got your coin what's going on with you?"

Garrett felt a small smile lift the corners of his mouth as he lowered his cowl. "I've got a problem Basso. I don't know if you can help or not. But I've got a big problem."

Garrett then told Basso everything. From the night at the inn, the kitchens, Alia's apartment and then he even shared his thoughts about Erin. Basso knew her just as well as he did and he deserved to know of his concerns.

Basso fed his magpie Jenevive a cracker as he mulled everything over. "You know Garrett… You can't blame yourself for Erin. Now I've got nothing but love for her, you know I do. But she was a ticking time bomb from the start. You did your best, my friend. We all know you did your best."

Garrett didn't answer, just watched his friends face to make sure he took in every emotion that came with his words.

Basso sighed. "But if this girl is as determined as you say, who are we to deny her at least a chance? If she doesn't work out, then we'll deal with it then."

Garrett chuckled and took a long swig of the ale they were sharing. "You've always had a soft spot for dames my friend. Even the silly ones."

"I would like to meet the little lass." Basso said, putting his face in his hands. "You should bring her by. I'll start stocking up little jobs. We'll start her out small."

Garrett was already throwing his hood back over his head and heading out to leave. "Have something ready by tomorrow night." And with that he disappeared into the darkness.

That same night he sat on the rooftop of a small store across the street from the girls' apartment. He was just a stone's throw away from her window. As always, he kept himself concealed in the darkness. He watched through her window, waiting for her to get back. He didn't know where he was, didn't really care. But he was running out of moonlight and he sure as hell wasn't going to hang out on the rooftops once the sun started to rise. Just then he saw movement, a door opened and closed and he saw her walk in. She removed her coat and unbuttoned her over shirt, leaving her in tight pants and a tank top. She kicked her boots off and threw herself, face down onto the bed.

He scowled as he made the running leap to her buildings' roof. He crouched down and gave her window a light tap.

"Come in." She groaned. He slipped in quietly and stood there with his arms crossed as she rolled herself into a sitting position. She had dark circles under her eyes that only made her irises look brighter. She looked at him tiredly. "Please don't tell me we start now."

"No. But tonight." He said, studying her.

"Okay then." She perked up slightly from excitement.

"Here are the initial rules." He said, taking the time to roam through her room. She either didn't care if he did it or was too tired to argue with him. Neither of which made a difference to him. "I'm a thief. Not a murderer. You kill someone without a damn good reason and I'll kill you."

She looked at him with a worried glance. "I've no intention of hurting anything but people's pocketbooks."

"Good." He said. "You do what I say, when I say it. You don't do anything without my approval. Got it?"

She nodded her head. "You got it, boss." Her gaze was steady and it calmed his nerves. Erin would fight his authority tooth and nail. This… might actually work.

He turned to face her. "Any questions?"

She shook her head, her hair swaying around her shoulders with a big stupid grin on her face.

"Be ready at nightfall. I'll come get you." He said making his way back to the window.

"Such a gentleman!" She exclaimed sarcastically as she laid back down and he disappeared into the early morning light.

Yaaaaaay chapter 2. I'm really digging writing Garret's character. I'm just fangirling over here.


	3. Chapter 3

Okay so here's chapter 3! I know I'm just flying these things out it's pretty intense and I'm really into it. I wish Garrett was real because I have a real life crush on him. I'm going to go sulk now.

Chapter 3: The First 'Job'

Alia wrung her hands nervously as she looked at her window. Night was approaching fast and soon Garrett would tap on her window and the first night of the rest of her life was going to begin. She decided that she couldn't wait anymore and climbed onto the roof herself. The wind whipped her hair away from her face as she looked around for a good place to wait without being seen. The chimney about four rooms down cast a decent shadow, even with the remaining light from the sunset. She walked over there quietly and sat down, keeping her face towards the direction she thought he would be coming from. It was an absolutely random guess but that's really all she had at the time.

As the sun gave up its last rays she saw Garrett moving swiftly through the rooftops, getting closer by the second. She watched him in wonder, his movements were fluid like water and she hoped that one day she would be that graceful. She quietly observed him as he crouched down by her window and tapped it softly. She stifled a giggle as she wondered what he would be thinking when she didn't answer. He tapped again, this time a little harder. He was getting annoyed. Pursing her lips, she gave a short whistle like a songbird. She saw him turn in her direction and even though the distance prevented her from seeing his features in detail, she could almost tell by his posture that he was scowling at her. As usual.

He stood up straight and walked over to her, the wind whipped his cloak around him. "At least you have the sense enough not to sit in the open."

She beamed at the praise and jumped up. "So what are we doing first?" Her heart would have burst out of her chest if her ribs weren't there to stop it. She watched his eyes roll from beneath his hood.

"We have to get you fitted first. You can't run around in civilian clothes. That's part of the reason why you're so loud. You don't have the right equipment. We need to see Basso." He started to walk away and she stayed close behind him. As they reached the end of the building he turned his head over his shoulder. "Do you think you can keep up?"

She smirked. "Watch me."

There was no way in hell she could keep up with him, but she thought she was doing pretty good for her first try. He had jumped down off the roof and she tried to follow his pattern but he was too fast for her. She tried to stay hidden as best as possible, but she knew one or two people had to have seen her running through alleys and climbing up the side of buildings. She tailed him all the way to an old tavern in the south quarter. Garett had stopped on a large, flat rooftop across the street, it had ample hiding places from the chimneys and power pylons that littered it. She came up behind his crouched form and fell to her knees behind him, breathing heavily but trying her best to stay quiet. He cast a sideways glance at her and from under his cowl he could tell he was smirking at her.

"Watch me." He said with a scoff, mocking her.

She straightened up, knowing her face was red from exerting herself. "Well what was I going to say? 'No let's get a rickshaw and take in the sights on the way?'" She said between breaths. She saw him roll his eyes at her and turn his attention to the building.

"Basso is in there."

She crept up closer to the edge by him to get a closer look. "Okay?" She looked at him confused. Was she supposed to go in by herself or..?

"We're going to scare him." He said simply.

She stared at him with her eyes wide. "We're going to scare your friend? That knows we're coming?" She was confused and the way Garrett was looking at her made her feel stupid. She could feel her face getting hot from embarrassment.

"Yes, he knows we're coming. That's the point. I want you to sneak in there with him looking for you. And I want you to spook him. If you can do that then maybe you're not hopeless." He threw that last part in with a criticizing glance.

She narrowed her eyes at him. "You just said I was ill-equipped. I think you're setting me up to fail, Master Thief." His gaze told her that he didn't really care, so her only choice was to do what he asked. And she needed to succeed or Alia felt that he truly would drop her as his student, and she was determined not to fail on her first night. She stood up and scanned the building across the street. There was more than one way to get in there. There were plenty of windows, and she thought she saw a skylight tucked away in a dip in the ceiling. But she didn't even know where in the building Basso was, hell she didn't even know what he looked like. Garrett rose and purposely shoved her shoulder with his as he passed her. "I'll leave you to it." He said darkly without looking at her.

She paced angrily for a few moments as he disappeared into the darkness of The City. She had to do this, not to prove any skill, oh no, now it was personal. She just wanted to rub it in his face when she pulled it off. He was underestimating her again and it pissed her off. So now with something to prove she thought of a plan quickly.

"It just might work…" She said to herself as she stepped of the rooftop and let herself slip into the street. She tried to dress for thieving, her boots laced up almost to her knees, tight pants to lessen the sound, and her tank top was only covered by her coat. But she was _just_ inconspicuous enough to blend in with the crowds as she entered the Crippled Burrick tavern with a small group of guards just getting off the clock and wanting a drink to wind down into the night. The tavern wasn't packed, but it wasn't empty. She scanned the room to look for someone that looked like they might associate with someone like Garrett. But she had to laugh at herself when she realized that Garrett didn't seem to be the type to associate with _anyone._ Her eyes fell on a door that led to the back, most likely a stock cellar. A classic place to run an operation. Hiding in plain sight.

It was easy enough to get to the door and slip in without being seen. She tip toed down the stairs, she was going painfully slow but that was the only way she could remain silent. She tried to copy the way she saw her master moving in the streets: fluid, like water. As she got closer to the end of the stairs she could hear voices and she crouched down and leaned in to try to make out what they were saying.

"Where is she?" A man said over the sound of a bird squawking. "I swear if you don't pipe down I'm going to make a new hat out of you!"

"I told her she had to find her own way in." That was Garrett. She leaned in just a little bit closer, the door at the bottom of the stairs was getting so close, it was her last obstacle to overcome before he just might take her seriously. Sure she could have slipped in a window or through the roof or any other conventional way a thief would normally get in someplace. But her task was to surprise this Basso, and she knew Garrett didn't use doors. So if Basso was expecting them, the last place he would expect someone to enter would be the door. It was bold, but it was worth a shot.

Her initial plan was to sneakily open the door and wait for someone to notice her. But the little voice in her head knew that Garrett would see her almost instantly and give her position up. So she straightened up and took a slow, deep breath. Acting entirely on impulse she reared her leg back, aimed just next to the knob, and kicked the door in as hard as she could.

"Basso!" She yelled as she stuck her head in the doorway and held her hand out to stop the door from hitting her, as she kicked a little too hard and it hit the wall and almost swung shut itself again. She saw a round man with a cool top hat jump about three feet in the air with an agility she wouldn't expect from a man built like himself. He turned, the blood had drained from his face for a split second as he took in her strange appearance. Even Garrett, who was facing the door, stiffened at her arrival, like he was poised at any minute to vanish.

"What in the bloody hells!" Basso said, clutching his chest and catching his breath before a smile spread across his face. She decided in herself that his mustache was cool, too. "So you must be the little lass?" His voice was still a little shaky.

She was absolutely beaming as she swung the door shut and strode across the room with her head held high. She did it! If she wasn't trying to play everything off as just peachy she would have squealed. But now wasn't the time for that. She had to be professional. "Alia." She said, holding out her hand. Basso shook her hand then kissed her knuckles.

"Garrett failed to mention that I would have such a beauty in my sights." She looked to Garrett, who rolled his eyes. "I can't say I would have cleaned up but, uh, you know." He said laughing.

"Hey, it's the thought that counts." She said smoothly. Yes! Everything was going so good! She turned to look at Garrett, waiting for her praise.

But it didn't come. Instead he took a step closer to her and cuffed her lightly in the head. "I said spook him, not give him a heart attack, idiot." He said with a sneer.

But she didn't really register that he had hit her. She was staring at his face. This was the first time she had ever seen him with his mask down. With a little bit of light hitting his face she saw that his eyes were a deep chocolate brown made even darker by thick eyebrows; and dark circles under his eyes that were either from lack of sleep or purposely put there to help with seeing in harsh lighting. His forehead had the faint lines of a crease at the top, probably from scowling all the time. He had a long slender nose that hooked slightly at the end and looked like it had broken a time or two, and oddly pretty lips for a man. He had scars, old and new, that she had to imagine were all over him, not just his face. And he had short stubble, like a 5 o'clock shadow that graced his upper lip and strong jaw.

He wasn't conventionally good looking but something about the way all his features mingled together on his face was _insanely_ attractive to her.

Garrett held her gaze for a moment before she could tell that she was making him uncomfortable. So she turned her attention back to Basso, who was shifting his gaze between the two of them nervously.

"I've, uh, never seen his face until now…" She said, trying to save her dignity.

"Sure thing, kid." Basso said with a strange smile. "Now let's get you measured."

The night went on relatively smoothly. With Basso measuring her arms and legs while he chatted with her about how things usually worked around there. Basso was well connected. He would get information about jobs, contact his thieves, and then split his commission. Apparently Garrett was the only one that didn't get told what to do. If he felt like working, he did. If he didn't, he simply wouldn't come around. Alia concluded that he was a very interesting character, indeed.

Basso would measure a limb, then write the numbers down on an old piece of parchment. When it came time to take her inseam, waist and chest he coughed nervously. "Pick your arms up." He mumbled. Alia grinned and cast a sideways glance at Garrett, who watched quietly as he leaned against the make shift desk, his arms crossed against his chest. "Hey Garrett did Basso feel you up too? Is that why you get to do what you want? You gave him a happy ending didn't you?"

Garrett said nothing, just looked at her dangerously.

Alia looked back to Basso, who was sliding his tape around her waist. "Does he have a permanent stick rammed right up his ass?"

He laughed at her heartily. "He's just Garrett." He then stood up, wrote some more numbers down and rubbed his hands together. "Alright, I should have this ready for you in about a week." He said.

Garrett stood up. "Alright then. Let's go."

Alia turned and waved. "Bye, Basso!"

Basso laughed "Next time I'll do without the heart attack, alright?"

She simply smiled and turned to follow Garrett like a puppy up and out one of the low windows that led to the alley behind the tavern.

The next night she was surprised to hear a soft tap on her window. She was just getting ready to head out and waitress at one of the local taverns to make some extra coin while she waited to start her real job.

"It's open, Garrett." She said just loud enough for him to hear her. She didn't turn to watch him slip through the window, she continued the process of throwing her hair up into a messy bun. "What brings you here?" She asked, looking at his scowling face through the mirror on her vanity.

"You giving up already?" He asked, looking around her room.

She spun to face him, half of her hair falling out of her bun. "What? No! Why would you think that?" She asked just a little bit too panicked.

His eyes narrowed as he pulled his cowl down. "You look like you're going somewhere." His pretty lips purred the words out as his eyes accused her. She had to stop thinking about his lips. It was getting distracting.

"I was going to go work until Basso had my gear ready…" She realized she must look like a nut case with half of her hair down and ripped the rest of the bun down from her head, suddenly conscience of what he must think of her. "But if that was the case you wouldn't be here." She said, untying the apron from around her waist and tossing it on her bed. "So what are we doing tonight, boss?"

A small smirk lifted the corners of his mouth. "You have a week to get in shape."

She nodded but he didn't continue. "Okay. And?" She said, trying to pry more answers out of him.

He turned and headed for the window. "That's it. Get to it. I'll be back when Basso is ready for you."

And with that he was gone.

She walked across the room and closed the window. "I guess it can't be helped." She said to herself as she changed out of her uniform and into some old clothes. She threw her hair up into a successful bun and began to do pushups on the floor.

Okay so please don't hate me, I know this is somewhat a filler chapter, but I wanted to write for Alia more and really let you as the reader get into her head and see that she is sort of goofy and impulsive, but in a good way. The next chapter will be much more crime oriented and Garrett and Alia are going to get more time together.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4: Closer

Alia had been busting her ass for 9 days straight. Morning, noon, and night she was either doing sit ups and pushups in her room, or taking hard labor jobs to strengthen her legs and arms. If she took a gig delivering packages or mail, she did it all in sprints to work on her speed and cardio. She stopped using the door to her room, and instead installed a rope in the back alley of the inn, forcing herself to climb up it multiple times a day. The first few days were absolute hell. She was so sore she could barely move, but she had to do it. She stayed motivated by pretending that Garrett was always over her shoulder, watching her, waiting for her to fail. She imagined that pretty mouth of his turned up in a snigger as he mocked her. It was her pride and determination that kept her going, but it was her bull headed anger that put the hammer down and got her to haul her ass for top efficiency.

It was the evening of day nine. She stood in her bra and underwear in front of her mirror on her vanity. She was impressed with her own results. She knew it was going to take lots more time to be the long, lean, stealing machine like her mentor, but she felt that her progress was good. And she had to admit that getting her body trimmed up was good for her own personal confidence.

After her inspection she left her room and walked down the hall to the bathroom. She was too poor to afford one of the rooms with its own baths, so she shared one with everyone on her side of the building. She bathed thoroughly, wrapped a towel around herself and headed back to her room. She wasn't concerned about the other tenants, they usually slept at night.

When she opened her door she was surprised to see Garrett sitting on a chair in the corner of the room, his elbows on his knees. When he saw her his eyes went from her head to her feet quickly before he turned his face away and stared dead-eyed at the wall.

"Get dressed." He said awkwardly.

Alia smirked. "Aw, Garrett, I never pegged you for being shy!" She said, just to tease him.

He didn't say anything, just shot her a threatening look and then quickly hopped out the window, and she noticed it was the first time he didn't seem to care if he made any noise.

She knew she was getting some new threads so she just threw on an old pair of trousers and a blouse along with her thick coat to protect her from the cold. She stepped out the window, her wet hair making her shiver slightly. Garrett was already waiting for her, but he seemed more uptight than usual.

He didn't say anything, just started making his way to Basso's, knowing she would follow.

They reached the Crippled Burrick pretty quickly, Alia's chest welled up with pride now that she was keeping up with her teacher much better. She still had a long way to go but she let her little bit of progress drive her to do even better.

Once inside Basso immediately gave her a thick bundle of heavy leather. "Take this," He said, "And go over there behind the booze barrels and get yourself changed. We need to know if it fits right."

She nodded enthusiastically and all but skipped over to cover to get her gear on. It was surprisingly complicated. She thought, like most armor, that there would be a thin body suit to wear underneath it all to protect her skin form chaffing. But upon closer inspection she saw that the inside of the hardened leather had a soft lining stitched into it. She was able to figure out the padding and the belts, both for her trousers and the tools that were to be strapped onto her leg. But the harness was a whole other story so she set it aside and figured she would ask for help later. She strapped up her boots and threw her cloak and hood over her shoulders, the cowl fastened to the hood but she kept it down. She tucked the harness under her arm and emerged from her hiding spot.

"I can't do this part…" She said meekly. Basso seemed impressed with how she looked while the Master Thief was his normal emotionless self.

Basso moved to help her but Garrett was faster and snatched it from her hands, clearly annoyed. His arms snaked around her waist as he towered over her, his hands working skillfully to fit the harness around her and tie it up. "You do it like this." He mumbled to her, lacing up the front and looping the ties through the small metal hoops on her belt. When he was done he only briefly made eye contact before he looked her up and down thoughtfully. "You've lost some weight…" he said before undoing some laces on the sides of her trousers. "So you'll want this tighter…" His long fingers brushed the bare skin on her legs as he loosened the ties before synching them together more securely.

"Is he always this nit-picky?" Alia asked Basso while Garret continued to circle her and make small adjustments here and there. She felt herself grow more and more nervous the more her teacher touched her.

Basso laughed. "He takes his work seriously." Was the only answer he provided her.

He stepped back and admired his work. Alia got the sinking feeling that he was literally only looking at her suit, not her. "That'll work." He said simply.

When she was finally free from prying fingers and eyes she moved around a bit, getting the feeling of her new attire. Everything had a certain balance. The leather was stiff enough to absorb damage, but flexible enough to move around without hindrance. The boots protected her feet but were a slightly softer material for muffling sound. All in all, she was extremely impressed. Her armor was very similar to Garrett's, but a bit more feminine to accommodate for the fact that she was actually a girl. Though she felt much more intimidating while she was impersonating a Master Thief.

"Let's go." Garrett said and make his way to the window.

"Where too, boss?" She asked.

"Pop quiz." He said with a sneer that sent a shiver down her spine.

"Well goodbye to you too!" Basso called after them. "Bunch of rude taffers…" He mumbled with a smile.

A few hours later they were laying low in an alley. Garrett gestured to the old house they were standing next to. "The people here are gone. So we're going to take a peek and see what we can find."

Alia scrunched up her nose. The house was a little run down and it didn't seem very promising to her. "It doesn't look like there would be anything of value here." She said, watching Garrett climb the side of the house and slip in through a window. Even though he gave her no answer she quickly followed him, taking note that her suit helped her be much more quiet than before. Once inside she crouched down and moved to where he was.

"It's not about how much you steal. It's about what you steal." He said quietly, his dark eyes flashed to her in the silent house. "And right now what you need is practice. So this will do nicely. Go find me something." He instructed. "I'll watch and tell you how bad you are at this as we go along."

She utilized her fingerless gloves to flip him off. "Payment for your confidence in me, _teacher_." She coated the last word in venom before leaving his side and roaming the open house. He kept his distance and observed her as she moved quietly from room to room, she opened drawers and trifled through jewelry boxes but nothing very valuable caught her eyes. But every so often she would look back and get a small but approving nod from Garrett as she picked the house apart.

She came to a small office just off the hallway and upon inspecting the desk she found a locked drawer. Her curiosity peaked, she removed the pick and small tension wrench from inside her gloves and went to work trying to trick the lock into thinking she had the key. It didn't take long for her to start getting a little frustrated, it seemed like no matter what she did she just couldn't get a feel of the pins. As she grit her teeth she felt the air around her move as Garret came around the desk, to no doubt see what was holding her up.

She looked up at him and saw his famous eye roll. Just as she started to get disheartened and apologize he moved quickly and crouched down behind her as he pulled his mask down. She was all of a sudden very thankful for her cowl as she prayed it would cover the creeping blush on her face.

He was balanced on the balls of his feet, his body draped tightly over hers as his long arms slipped in under her own so his hands could grasp hers. She felt her whole body stiffen as his face crept over her shoulder and he whispered into her ear. "Relax…Your hands are all wrong." She couldn't help but imagine those lips of his so close to her face.

She watched in awe as his long, slender fingers peeled hers back and fanned them out. If her heart beat any faster, it was going to explode.

"All you need," He purred, the scruff on his cheeks brushing hers lightly. "Is your thumbs and forefingers. You have to get these other ones out of the way." He then guided her hands back to the drawer. "Try it now."

She swallowed as she tried the lock again, this time though she could feel the minute movements of the pick against the pins through her fingers. It was amazing what just a small adjustment did. After a little while she felt the lock click and turned the tension wrench, opening the drawer. She gasped. "I did it…" She said quietly. She turned her head to see Garrett's face, still barely an inch away. His eyes were watching her intently. He was still crouched behind her, practically spooning her from an upright position.

She couldn't help but smile from under her mask. "I did it!" She whispered excitedly and for the first time she saw his lips turn up in a smirk, but not a dark one.

It had been over a month since that night in the mansion. Garrett had been mostly holed up in his tower. He had to stay away from her. Feelings were just like traps. He didn't like them. They got in the way of his money. He didn't even know if they were real feelings. On one hand he had started to enjoy her company. She was funny and determined to prove herself, and it was refreshing. On the other hand, he wanted to bite that luscious mouth of hers and watch her squirm beneath him.

He shook his head. He couldn't start thinking like that again. Not now. Once the sun set he had to go see if she was up to a job. He wanted to see if she could pull of more than just sweeps. She could dodge maids and nobles, but could she outfox the guards and the watch?

A couple hours later he was at her window. He had knocked as he always did, and was sitting on the roof, waiting for her to come out. She emerged a few moments later, shutting the window with her foot while she tied her wild hair into a messy braid down her back. He couldn't help but watch her. She walked up to him as she tied the end of her hair off.

"You ready to head out?" She asked, looking down at him.

He looked up and met her gaze, her eyes shone bright against the moon. He liked her eyes. They reminded him of silver. He reached out and grabbed her belt and pulled her closer. He heard her gasp as his knuckles brushed against her. He pulled the end out of the buckle and pull it tighter before putting it back through the loops that held the excess length. "You had that too loose. Again." He said as he stood up. There were barely a couple inches between them. Her cheeks were on fire. He couldn't help himself but grin. He knew what he was doing to her, he wasn't stupid. Or maybe he was because he was acting out on his desires when he knew it was a bad idea.

"Let's go." He said quietly while raising his cowl, trying to break the tension and get his mind out of the gutter. "Time to go to work."

Okay, I know this is probably a shitty place to stop but if I didn't stop now then it would have went on for WAY TOO LONG. Reviews are always appreciated. I also would like some input as to what the hell Garrett's hair looks like?


	5. Chapter 5

Okay so I'm glad I could get this one up so fast because I had to end the last chapter in such a strange place. So hopefully this makes up for it. From this point on the chapters may get a little more *ahem* graphic. So let's just have fun with this!

Chapter 5: Heist gone wrong

Garret moved swiftly through the hallway. He was crouched low, sweeping his arms around him to keep his weight balanced and quiet. He rounded the corner ducked into a room and waited for the guard to walk by. While he waited he helped himself to some shiny trinkets that were laying around. He returned on his path to the office where the documents were that he was sent for. He picked the lock and shut the door quietly behind him.

He stood with his forehead against the cool wood and listened. He didn't hear any commotions. Only the soft murmur of guards having late night conversations about their favorite whores. This was a good thing. Alia was at the other end of the mansion on the other side of the courtyard. She was tasked with taking anything of value that she could get her hands on. And as long as all was quiet, then all was well.

The first thing he did was get rid of the lights. He worked better in the dark. He poked through the desks and drawers. He found some other nice things and slipped them into his pouch, but he still had a goal. His eyes fell to a painting on the wall. He smirked as he slipped his fingers under the frame and delicately felt for a switch.

With a soft click the frame detached from the wall where he could swing it open. There, built into the wall was the safe he was looking for. This lock was much harder than the door, but he made quick work of it. Inside he found the documents a few rings with fine cut gems that he also helped himself to. He then shut the safe, put the painting back and fastened it. He looked around. It was like he was never here.

He tucked the papers away in a secret pocket in his harness and peeked out the window. He saw Alia creeping in the darkness. She was behind a statue; two guards were only feet away. She would poke her head out and then go back into hiding a few times. He wondered what she was thinking about. Then, as if she made her decision, she back tracked a few feet and kept tight to the building. She began to scale the outer wall, using window sills and pipes to move quickly. Her body was flexible and made easy work of the climb. She must have cleaned out one wing and seeing that he wasn't done yet, went on to the other.

He smiled. She was doing well. And she wasn't being reckless.

He left the room and went back down the hallway, all he had to do was go down two flights of stairs, climb back up the old chimney, rendezvous with Alia on the roof and get the hell out of here. Just as he was about to round the corner he saw some guards coming his way. He quickly bolted across the crossway and down another passage. He would just have to take a different route and get around them.

As he wound around the hallways he saw that to get to the stairs he would have to pass a couple of bird cages. He hated birds. And cats. Actually he didn't really like animals at all. They spooked too easy and made way too much noise. He grit his teeth and moved, every muscle in his body was tense and poised. He had to keep his movements even, quiet but most of all slow. Sudden movements sent birds into a frenzy.

He passed the first one without incident. He was crouched so low that his shoulders were lower than his knees, and he made sure to roll his feet and use his hands so the wood floors beneath him wouldn't creak and give him away. He stopped. The next cage had a lantern hung on the wall across the hallway. He couldn't avoid the light and stay close to the cage or he could bump it and alert the guards. But he also couldn't put the light out and be found out either way. He took a deep, silent breath. He would risk the stupid bird if it kept him concealed.

As he passed the second bird and his tensions started to lessen, a door behind him suddenly opened and he couldn't hide himself fast enough.

"Thief!" A servant shrieked. The noise freaked the birds out and in a matter of seconds the whole third floor was in an uproar. He cursed under his breath and jumped over the banister, cutting the actual stairs out of the equation as he raced down through an open room and down another hall. He slid to a stop as three guards rounded a corner and headed his way. Garrett had to do something and he had to do it fast.

"Stop thief!" One of them yelled as they all drew their swords. He lifted off on a dead run. He had a plan. He could see the whites of the guards' eyes as he drew close enough to strike him, but he was able to dodge the first one and get behind the next. With a swift kick to the back of the knee the second one was down, and the third followed with a solid blow to the head from his Blackjack. The first one spun around for the chase but he was already sprinting toward the window.

With the whole place becoming aware of his presence he had to escape as fast as he could. He covered his face with his forearms and braced himself for impact as he drove his shoulder through the glass and wood. He broke through and rolled down the roof. He straightened himself as best as he could and hit the round with a combat roll to break his fall without breaking his legs.

The men in the courtyard scrambled around, having seen and heard him come out flying through a window. He got on his feet and made a run for a nearby covered walkway. If he could get up there he could get to the roof. And if he got to the roof he was as good as gone.

He turned to look over his shoulder just in time to see a man release a bolas (tripping tool) that flew through the air and wrapped around his leg. He couldn't keep his balance and fell into the grass. He kicked the heavy chords off his calf and backed himself against a stone wall.

"Time to die, blackhand!" The guard said, his fat face was in a sneer as he raised his sword over his head. Garrett locked his muscles up, ready to dodge and run. If he wasn't mortally injured that is.

Just then he felt something warm spray onto his face. His eyes winced when he saw the arrow head sticking out of the guards' throat, just under his chins. His blood splattered onto his uniform as he gurgled and fell to his knees. Garrett's eyes snapped up to see Alia on the rooftops across the courtyard. Her bow was still raised and her arm was still in the release position. She seemed frozen for just a moment until she snapped back into action.

She used her fingers and whistled shrilly.

"The thief is on the roof!" The guards all changed their attentions and started heading her way, some shooting arrows at her as she ran across the shingles and distracted them long enough for Garrett to get his feet back under him and get himself to higher ground. He turned to look when he heard her cry out and saw her stumble before she disappeared into the darkness. He climbed frantically. His leg was probably going to bruise but he hissed through the pain and kept going.

Once he was out of the reach of the guards he looked for Alia. Something told him she was hit. He saw her fall. He knew she would be trying to put as much space between her and the mansion. He stayed on the highest buildings to give him a better vantage point.

He thought he saw movement down in an alley close by. He jumped down and as he reached the narrow darkness he saw her crawling on her elbows, a trail of blood left behind her.

"Alia." He said as he crouched down near her. He saw the arrow that was still stuck in her leg. That's why she stumbled. She turned to look at him, wincing in pain, her eyes were red and her dirty cheeks had clean streaks running down them from crying.

"Garrett… That man is dead… I killed him." She shuddered the words out between sobs.

"Don't worry about that now." He said softly. "Worry about yourself. You're injured." He looked around. They were too exposed. He needed to get under cover. Basso would be his best and safest bet. "Come on now, get up. We can't stay here." He threw her arm over his shoulder to support her weight. She whimpered in pain but got up with him. He held her waist and led her down the alley, though it would take longer the back way was the only way.

It seemed to take forever but he finally turned into the familiar alley behind The Crippled Burrick. He opened a small window that was close to the ground and drug Alia in after he slipped in. She tried to put weight on her impaled leg and it gave out, sending her toppling on top of him. He helped her back up and brought her to the desk. With a swipe of his arm he cleared all the papers and books off by throwing them to the floor. He turned to Alia who was glassy eyed and sweating. Her breathing was getting quicker and more shallow. He picked her up and laid her on the desk on her side so he could see her leg.

The arrow didn't go all the way through, the head of it was still lodged in the meat of her thigh. He grimaced. "I can't pull it back out. The arrowhead would tear you open and you'd bleed to death."

She groaned and shut her eyes.

"What the fuck is going on here?" Basso yelled as he came down the stairs. He shut the door behind him then rushed over, taking care not to step on his books strewn all over the floor. He looked around at all the blood and the color drained from his face. "Oh no. Garrett is she going to be okay?"

"Help me hold her down." He said as he removed his belt. He put the tough leather in her mouth and grabbed her chin, forcing her to look at him. "There's patrons upstairs. We can't let them hear you scream. Bite down on this, okay?" She looked absolutely pitiful, but she nodded her head and closed her teeth on the belt.

Basso held her shoulders while he held her leg with one hand and started to push the arrow through with the other. She grit her teeth and dug her nails into Basso's arms, the tears streamed down her cheeks and she arched her back.

The head of the arrow sliced through her skin and poked through the other side. Garret quickly snapped the head off and pulled the shaft out the way it came in. Once the arrow was out of her she spat the belt out and sobbed, holding her injured thigh.

Basso let her go. "I'm going to get some banages. There's some opiates in the drawer, give her some she deserves it. Get her cleaned up." He ran for the door and bound up the stairs. Garret poked his fingers in the hole in her trousers and ripped it open so he could see the wound. Luckily it was clean, and though it was bleeding pretty bad it seemed to have missed her major artery.

"You're going to be fine." He said glancing at her face which was twisted in pain. He quickly opened the drawer and got one of the little white pills. "Here take this it will numb the pain so you can rest."

She turned her head away. "I don't want that. Get it away from me." She said, breathing heavy. The sweat was beading on her forehead.

"Don't be stubborn now just take the damn meds."

"No." She said and glared at him.

Garrett popped the pill into his mouth and crushed it between his molars. He then grabbed her on either side of her head, her eyes looked at him confused for a split second before he crashed his lips onto hers. She was still for just a moment, probably from shock, before she started to struggle against him. He pinched her jaw between his long fingers and forced her mouth open so he could slip his medicine-coated tongue into her mouth. She pounded her fist against his shoulder with one hand and tried to push on his chest with the other. He released her jaw and held the hand that was striking him down on the desk. He had to stifle a small moan that threated to escape from his throat as he continued to kiss her passionately.

Her hand stopped pushing him away and gripped his harness desperately. He couldn't help but smile against her mouth as she gave in and kissed him back. Even though he knew she had swallowed the pill dust by now he continued to kiss her just a moment longer. He finally pulled his face away and looked her in the eyes. They were both breathing a little hard. Her silver eyes were locked on his questioningly before they seemed to look past him as a glaze of euphoria crept across them. He watched as her body became lethargic as she stared off into nothingness.

Just then Basso cleared his throat behind him. He jumped a little as he turned to see him standing there, a knowing grin plastered on his face.

"So…" He said, bringing over the bandages. "She's doing better?"

Garrett didn't think he was capable of blushing. But his face did feel a little warm. "She's high as a kite but doing fine now."

Basso laughed. "Oh I'm sure she is."

"Shut up." Garrett snapped. He pulled the papers from his harness and extended his arm to him. "Here's your mark."

Basso began to wrap Alia's leg, talking softly to her as he did. Garrett observed from a chair in the corner. It seemed that his fence had a soft spot for his little student. When he finished he cast a glance his way. "Do you want me to get a cart to bring her home? She won't be any good on this leg for a couple of days."

Garrett stood and thought for a moment. "No. The South Quarter is too far. The Watch would catch us for sure. I'll take care of it." He said as he helped Alia into a sitting position. He then slung her limp body across his shoulders and began to leave the tavern.

"Hey Garrett." Basso called after him. "Don't do anything I wouldn't do!"

Garrett ignored him but left with a sly smile on his face.

PHEW. Okay so this is getting excited! The story will start to pick up soon, I'm pretty sure I'm going to be able to start working Erin and the events of the game into everything. I'm not making any promises though. Review if you can, it helps me out a whole bunch.


	6. Chapter 6

Okay so this chapter is long and it's mostly sex and if you don't like it then too bad you were warned in the description.

Chapter 6: The clock tower

Alia opened her eyes groggily as she began to wake up. As her vision cleared she saw that she was in a place she wasn't familiar with. She was on an old but comfortable bed that was offset in a corner. She flung the blankets off her and realized that she was in only her underwear and the black tank top she usually wore underneath her armor. Her thigh was neatly bandaged where she remembered getting shot by a guard. She painfully swung her legs off the bed and had to wait for her head to stop spinning. She then rose and limped across the dusty wooden floors. She emerged from the little nook to see a giant clock face that towered above her. The massive hands were kept in motion by a central network of steel gears and cogs and wooden beams that reached high above her head and descended far deeper into the floor then she could see with the dim lighting.

There were shelves filled with books and tables littered with maps and diagrams. She leafed through a few and even found a layout of every street in the city. There were crates filled with everything from arrows to food to drawing paper. She slowly made her way across the room and saw a trophy area and around the corner form that was a set of stairs that led to a loft that stood over the area she woke up in. She held her leg for support as she painfully made her way up the stairs. There was an open window, well, more like a decorative hole in the wall, covered by make shift drapes of old thick cloth. She peeked past the covering and gasped when she saw the tops of the buildings of The City sprawling far beneath her basking in the early morning light.

She looked around in wonder as she realized that she was _in_ the clock tower of Stone Market.

One the wall she noticed an array of wanted posters. Some of them looked to be years old, and they each had the same face. She leaned against the end of a table for support, reached her hand out and gingerly traced the lines of Garret's eyes. Whoever the artist was, they definitely captured his signature scowl. She studied each one and the newest one said his capture was worth 10,000 gold. She raised her eyebrows and nodded, impressed. She put two and two together and realized that this must be where he lived, or at least where he hid out and stored his things. She took another look around and laughed to herself. Maybe her teacher was the infamous ghost that haunted the clock tower.

She winced as her leg began to ache from overuse. She decided that it was time to sit down, and turned to collapse into a chair she saw earlier. But when she turned around she was surprised to see Garrett, looking down at her, barely a foot away from her.

"AHH!" She screamed and fell backwards, taking the table down with her. Books and papers were catapulted across the room. She fell hard on her backside, her heart racing from the adrenaline that was now pumping through her. But hey, at least it was blocking out the ache in her thigh.

She looked up to see him sigh and cast his eyes to the big mess she just made. "Idiot."

"Ass." She spat while throwing papers off of her head. She carefully stood, keeping her weight on her good leg. "Is there a reason you decided to sneak up on me?"

He looked at her tiredly. "Sneaking is what I do, I'm a thief remember?"

She narrowed her eyes at him. "I've only ever seen you purposely scare Basso…" All of a sudden she could feel a knowing grin spread wide on her face. "Garrett!" She gasped. "Are we _friends_?!"

He spun to look at her fiercely. "Don't be stupid." He said, but the way he tensed told her otherwise.

She clapped her hands in front of her. "Aw! And we're already having our first sleepover!" She tried to hide her giggles but she was failing miserably.

"Shut up." He groaned and rolled his eyes.

"Can I paint your nails?"

"Go to hell."

"Can I do your hair?"

"No. Now clean this mess up."

"Sure thing… _Friend."_ She laughed and reached down to try to right the table while he picked up some books off the floor. She winced as she rolled the table back on its legs, a tearing, stinging sensation crawling up her thigh. She looked down at her bare legs to see her bandages were stained bright red with fresh blood. She forgot that she was half naked and realized how dumb she must have looked laughing her ass off in her underpants in front of Garrett. "Shit." She mumbled and held her leg, trying to keep pressure on her now opening wound. Her blood escaped her bandage and began to run down her calf. The next thing she knew her feet left the floor. She yelped in surprise as Garrett swept her up and cradled her in his arms.

"Such a nuisance." He said as he floated down the stairs. Even with her extra weight he moved with the grace of a dancer.

"You're the one who brought me here." She snapped, her face inches from his.

"Oh yes let me, a wanted man, parade down the street to the South Quarter with a woman who's blitzed out of her mind on opiates, and who has an injury that suspiciously coincides with a thief that got shot earlier in a heist." He walked to the edge of the bed and dropped her. She almost bounced completely off if she hadn't caught herself.

While she tried to right herself she felt hands on her hips as Garrett drug her so that her butt was at the edge of the bed. He then pulled up a chair and sat, and draped her bleeding leg across his lap. She wasn't sure when he removed his hood but he did. His hair was dark like his eyes and kept short and messy. He had a threaded suture needle held in his teeth while he tore her useless bandages away. She hissed through her teeth as he cut her old stitches and pulled the old thread through her skin. "Could you at least _try_ to be a little more gentle?" She said as she lay on her back and stared at the ceiling, the rising sun let thin lines of light filter through the planks above her.

He gripped her leg tightly as he began to thread new stitches in her bleeding wound. "Nothing about me is gentle." He said with an icy glance her way. "You should know that by now."

She scoffed. "I've seen the way you pick locks and find secret switches and rooms and disarm traps." She raised her head to look at him. "You can be gentle when you want to be."

He met her eyes curiously. He licked his lips in thought and then continued to work on her thigh, but this time his slender fingers worked tenderly to sew her leg back together. She lay her head back and smiled. "See that wasn't so hard, was it?" She closed her eyes and tried to relax as a needle was being prodded in and out of the meat of her upper leg. She couldn't help but let out a small gasp when she felt his lips and the tickle of his stubble on her as he cut the end of her last stitch with his teeth.

"How's that feel?" He asked quietly as he wiped away the blood with a wet rag.

"Sore…" She said honestly, trying to keep her voice even.

Then she felt his warm hands on her cool skin glide up her thigh almost to her backside and back down to her knee; only applying a slight pressure that did wonders to relax her injured muscle. "How about that?" He asked, a slight strain in his voice.

She felt a shiver run up her spine and small warmth began to rise between her legs. "Good." She whimpered. She was oddly comfortable with him touching her the way he was. Hell, she had daydreamed about it more than once. But her nerves were still on edge. If one thing led to another, well, she certainly wouldn't deny him. But it was also improper for students to sleep with their teachers. She laughed quietly at her own thoughts. Since when does a thief worry about what's proper or not?

"What's so funny?" He asked with a smirk.

"Is it a cliché if I say that you're good with your hands?" She shifted her legs and offered her other one onto his lap. He smiled and began to massage it as well.

"You have no idea how good I am with my hands." He purred. His hand drifted over her hip and up her waist, only to slither back down to her knee. Her heart pounded in her ears. Surely he wouldn't touch her like this if his intentions were pure, and Alia's thoughts were anything but. She didn't just find him physically attractive, he stirred her in ways like no one ever before. Even though he was absolutely indifferent about anything besides his job or his money. She guessed that the old adage was true, women were drawn to the bad boy.

The next thing she knew the bed creaked softly as he rose from the chair to lean over her, his face dangerously close.

"Is this a bad idea?" She asked quietly, making sure not to break his steady gaze.

"Probably." He said simply, his eyes wondering from her eyes to her lips and back again.

"Do you care?" She could feel her face getting hot as one of his hands slipped beneath her shirt, his thumb running over the sensitive flesh on her ribs.

"Not really. Do you?"

"Not right this moment, no." She answered him honestly. Okay, she thought. Her boldness had paid off for her before when it came to Garrett, maybe it would work here, too. She gingerly took his face in her hands and brought her lips to his. The kiss was gentle at first, then he slipped his tongue in her mouth and she could feel the eagerness growing between both of them. She was happy to taste him and not opiates this time. While she tried to scoot herself back onto the bed the right way she pulled the ties of his gloves and tossed them over her head. Out of sight out of mind. His now bare hands slid her more securely onto the bed as he leaned back on his knees and started undoing his belt.

Alia sat up and began to frantically undo the laces and buckles of his harness. When he slipped his belt off his hips he claimed her lips again hungrily. As she pulled the last chord and threw it aside he began to peel off the top half of his armor. She broke the kiss to inspect him and he took the opportunity to bury his face in the crook of her neck. She couldn't stifle a groan, but she didn't know if it was from the feverish kisses on her shoulder or seeing Garrett with no shirt on. Every inch of him was covered in lean, cut muscle. She ran her hands down his chest and stomach, thanking whoever it was that had the sex that made him.

She went to let her hands go down further but a strong hand pushed her down onto her back. "Relax…" He said, his breath hot on her skin. He pulled her shirt up almost to her neck and took her breast in his mouth. A strange, primal sound slipped past her lips as he licked and sucked her nipple to a hard point while his hand slid under the thin material of her underwear and began stroking between her legs.

She had watched him uncover a secret switch beneath the frame of a painting before, and as she observed his skilled fingers sliding behind the smooth wood she wondered if that might be the same way he touched a woman, using his knowing touch until he found that sweet spot and then claim the prize. Now that she was getting a first-hand experience she knew it to be true. She felt him grin against the tender flesh of her throat when he found her spot and dug in mercilessly.

"Such a good girl…" He groaned while she writhed on the bed, the coil deep inside her tightening at an incredible pace. His fingers reached deep inside her while his thumb circled her clit, and the next thing she knew she was clinging to his strong shoulders as she shuddered, her breath catching in her throat. He then wasted no time curling his fingers around her panties and pulling them down her legs, being mindful of her wound. He sat back on his knees, a dark and hungry look in his eyes.

"Lose the shirt." He commanded. His voice was tight, like he was trying to restrain himself. She obeyed, shivering as the cool air hit her bare back. Garrett then slid his trousers down and off his hips, smirking as he saw her looking at his erection. He crawled back up her body, leaving his pants behind and settling himself between her legs and kissed her deeply, his tongue coating hers.

She broke the kiss suddenly. "Wait." She breathed. Garrett looked at her, confused. "When did you take your shoes off?" She asked, looking down his naked body curiously.

He shook his head and chuckled. "Just shut up." He covered her mouth with kisses as his he grabbed a handful of her backside with an almost painful squeeze. He raised her hips to meet his as he worked his way into her, her teeth biting into his shoulder at the sharp pain of her insides stretching to accommodate him. He moaned as his full length touched the back of her walls and he started rolling himself against her in a slow and steady rhythm.

As her body adjusted Alia released her grip on Garrett's shoulders and relaxed into the sheets, arching her back as the pain melted into a delicious pleasure. She moaned along with every thrust of his hips and creak of the bed. His breath was ragged in her ear as he began to pick up the pace and increase the force of his movements in and out of her as he found her weakness and proceeded to exploit it. She couldn't keep her breathing steady as her body once again began the process of climax. She turned her head away only to have him snatch her face and force her to look at him.

"I want to watch." He moaned, his dark brown eyes boring into hers. He grit his teeth as she cried out, the spasm hit her body like a steam engine. She dug her nails frantically into his arms, arching her back to ride the waves of ecstasy that rolled over her, causing her body to shudder beneath him.

Garrett grinned sadistically, having witnessed every twitch and twist of her face as she released. He released her face and kissed her, Alia could almost taste the desperation in his lips. His thrusting became even faster and more erratic as he hooked his elbow under her knee on her good leg and set it at a sharper angle, giving him even more access to her. She watched his eyelids flutter as his eyes started to roll in his head. She could feel him stiffen inside her as he clawed at her flesh. He moaned weakly in her ear as he came, his muscles twitching beneath his skin.

She bit her lip and couldn't contain the grin that spread on her face as she panted to catch her breath. Hearing him whimper in her ear made her realize that even Garrett, the Master Thief, when stripped down to his core was still just a man. That something as basic as sex still had just a strong a hold on him as it did anyone else. It made him seem so much more human and not this magical enigma she had made him out to be in her mind. Although it diminished some of the mysticism, it reminded her that she had him right here in her arms in reality.

Alia was most surprised when he kissed her again; this time with no tongue or lust. It was _sweet_. He was showing her genuine affection. A warm sensation started at her breastbone and fanned out throughout her shoulders, as if she just felt her heart beating for the first time. She took his face in her hands and kissed him back before he got off of her and they situated themselves beside each other on the bed. She lay on her stomach to try to bend her leg out and get it comfortable. She had no idea how she didn't tear her stitches but she wasn't about to complain. Garrett laid on his side next to her, resting one of his long arms over her waist as he settled his head into a pillow.

"This doesn't change anything." He mumbled drowsily. "I'm not going to cut you any slack when you're ready to start working again just because you're good in bed." She turned to see a cocky grin on his face.

"Oh darn. You've foiled my plans yet again." She giggled, rolling her eyes.

He coiled his fingers in her hair. "Well, one thing changes I suppose…"

"What's that?"

"Now you can expect me to be sneaking in your window for business _and_ pleasure." He purred.

She felt the blood rush to her face. "Wait, what?"

He opened his eyes, a curious look in them. "Well what did you think was going to happen? You don't find a place you like to eat and only go there once. You become a regular."

She could feel herself blush but she didn't say anything. She just laid her head down and let herself fall asleep to the slow breathing of the man next to her.

LATER

When she woke up the sun had already set but the oranges and reds still lingered slightly in the clouds. She sat up and stretched, the muscle in her leg ached but it felt better than it did earlier. She groaned as she reached her arms above her head and arched herself. She sighed when she felt Garrett's fingers touch her skin, tracing the faint lines that she knew laced her back.

"When did this happen?" He asked curiously.

"A long time ago…" She said, shutting down further conversation. She didn't like talking about those scars.

"Fair enough." He said simply. His hand reached around her and groped her chest, pulling her back down onto the bed. He wasted no time in kissing her neck and fondling her body.

She moaned as his hands instantly ignited the heat within her. "Don't you have to see Basso?"

"There's no rush." He said, placing himself between her legs. "I have plenty of time…" He trailed off while he nibbled at her earlobe. He wasted no time and slowly slid his cock into her. He kept his body hovered closely over her, taking his time and moving torturously slow. She moaned and bent her knees and rolled her hips with his, kissing his neck and letting her hands roam across his chest and shoulders.

She pouted when he pulled out completely, leaving a shiver in her body. He then sat with his back against the headboard and took her hands in his. He pulled her to him, kissing her deeply while urging her to straddle him. She complied with a grin, tossing her hair out of the way; he licked her breasts as she lowered herself onto him. She bit her lip as she took all of him and settled herself comfortably in his lap. His arms held her waist tightly as she rocked on top of him slowly. She adjusted her angle so that she felt his hard length rubbing her in just the right way. She gasped as he bit her just above her nipple, the sharp pain molding with her rising pleasure beautifully. His hands gripped her hips tightly and he forced her to roll her hips back and forth on top of him. She moaned loudly, throwing her head back and gripping his shoulders as the motion caused his shaft to rub against her clit while also giving him the pleasure of a full, strong stroke.

"Yes…" He moaned. "Just like that…" He reached a hand around her waist and grabbed a handful of her hair, keeping her head pulled back as he sucked on her breast, the moan in his throat vibrating and tickling her devilishly. She began to rub herself faster against him, feeling her insides begin to flutter around him. With one hand in her hair and the other gripping her backside he forced her thrusts to become more violent and desperate. She groaned roughly and shuddered against him as she went over the edge. Her nails dug into his shoulders as the waves crashed against her, numbing her brain and making spots appear before her eyes.

He didn't allow her to stop riding him though, and he let go of her hair to use his hand to steady himself on the bed so he could thrust up into her from beneath her. Somewhere between a whimper and a moan she cried out, the depth that he was reaching was borderline painful. He took her mouth and clawed her back as he gripped her tight and reached his climax. As the shudders left his body he let his shoulders slump and his head lay back against the headboard. His strong chest rose and fell rapidly as he panted to catch his breath.

Alia slid off his lap and collapsed on the bed, curling up under the blankets. With the sun completely gone the air around them was nipping her skin. Garrett stood, scratching his head absentmindedly as he collected his clothes and tossed hers on the bed as he went.

"I'll help you get home before I see Basso." He said as he jumped into his trousers.

"I can get myself home, Garrett. Chauvinism is wasted on you." She shot him a sideways grin.

"I have the lower levels of this place booby trapped. You _will_ lose a limb if I don't help you."

"I stand corrected." She said, her eyes wide. "It would be a pleasure for you to see me home, good sir." She mockingly bowed her head and he responded by throwing a pillow at her.

"Come on, let's go. We're wasting moonlight."


	7. Chapter 7

Okay here's chapter 7! I tried to follow the game line so I could start incorporating all that jazz into it.

Chapter 7: Erin

Garrett groaned and pinched the bridge of his nose. These last few months were proving hard not to start killing people. Alia frustrated him. It seemed like no matter what she did he was transfixed. That little witch was slowly wrapping him around her fingers and he was either stupid or horny enough to go along with it; worst of all with a smile on his face. And now Basso, lining up a job for him to work with Erin. He knew that it would come to this eventually, word was spreading fast about her, the thief that would kill her marks. He still felt partially responsible for the monster he had a hand in creating and he knew he needed to at least try to talk to her.

Basso laughed nervously, sitting across the desk from him. "I know it's not ideal… But she's going to get herself killed. I figured we should at least try to intervene."

"By 'we' you mean 'me'."

"Well yeah."

He glared. "Fine. Can you make sure Alia gets home?"

"Of course. How is she by the way?"

"Good. I made her wait outside." He motioned in the direction of the alley.

Basso narrowed his eyes, a sly grin spread on his wide face. "You seem… relaxed."

He felt himself tense slightly. The events of last morning and a couple hours before flashed in his head. He merely glared and left the tavern.

LATER

"It's about time you showed up."

His stomach sunk. Part of him wanted to believe that she wouldn't come, that she would blow off the job for fear of getting another one of his lectures. But when it came to Erin, as usual, he was wrong.

"Could you be any louder?" He snapped. She had purposefully made a ruckus while he was clearing out a house on his way to meet her.

"How else would you know it was me?" She smiled with her hands on her hips. She seemed to have ditched practical work clothes with something a little more risqué. "Basso did tell you we were working on this together right?"

"Yes, I've been sent to babysit. Again."

"Oh, Garrett, don't be like that. Come on, it will be just like old times."

"That's what I'm afraid of." He mumbled as he followed her through the rooftops. She tried to make small talk, even tried to compete with him on the way. But he would have none of it. There was a sour taste in the back of his mouth that he couldn't swallow no matter how hard he tried. Something bad was going to happen.

As he entered the abandoned attic he saw Erin sitting on a desk illuminated by the flicker of a few stray candles. The dust that had been disturbed by their movements was almost suffocating.

Erin's face fell. Her coy demeanor changed to a sneer in a matter of seconds. "What crawled up your ass and died? Are you mad because you couldn't bring your little pet along?"

He turned to face her, he could feel his face harden as he tried to keep a neutral expression. "No."

She scoffed and produced a map out of her pocket. "This Primal Stone thing is in the ceremony room at Northcrest Manor."

"That's the baron's mansion. It won't be easy." He said warily, snatching the map from her hands.

"Worried?" She asked coyly. She had painted her lips black and with her sharp features and scarf around her head she looked like a long black cat, no doubt raining bad luck wherever she went.

"Yes. And so should you."

"Don't worry!" She said cheerfully. "I'll pick up your slack." She slid off the desk and smiled.

He scowled at her. She was treating this like a game, nothing about her had changed. She tried to play this life off as 'fun' and 'exciting'; and an attitude like that was absolutely stupid. Garrett wasn't a thief for the rush or because he was inherently a bad person. He had needs and bills and he just so happened to be really good at stealing. People with great personalities became salesmen, and Garrett picked their pockets. Everyone utilizes their skills. But he often wondered if Erin saw value in anything. A commission was presented, she took it and ran with it. She didn't see the profit in staying anonymous, or picky, or even alive.

They worked their way through the streets until they came upon the stone wall that surrounded the baron's manor. He gave Erin a lift up and she helped to pull him over the edge. They landed in the cover of darkness and some decorative shrubs.

"That's a lot of guards…" Erin mumbled.

"I bet they're not here to kill time. A lot of guards is a lot of steel…" He trailed off quietly, hunched down in the brush.

"I've never had a problem with swords." She said proudly. "But then again, I'm not just a thief."

He scowled at her back. And with that she was swooping through the darkness, being reckless but silent. If she would just curb her attitude and dangerous tendencies Erin would be a very good thief. He hoped that her arrogance was part of her young age and prayed that if she lived long enough she would grow out of it.

As they made their way around the most populated areas of the courtyard they came across a pair of guards trying to light a fire pit.

"You couldn't set a cloth aflame if it was doused in oil, son" He heard one man say to the other much younger guard. "I'll show you how it's done. If you pack it together too close, then the air won't feed the flames."

The younger one sighed as he rounded the edge of the bushes and crouched behind Erin, waiting for an opportunity to get past them. "I should know better, my family used to be charcoal burners."

"Is that so?" The older one started, but Garrett didn't pay attention to what the rest of his response was as he watched Erin pounce on the young one. He saw his body go limp as she dragged him into the shadows. But the other guard turned, looking for his comrade. His hands were now tied. He had to take this man down quickly, quietly, and alive. He darted out from his hiding spot and came up on the unsuspecting guard's' back. He slammed the back of his head with his blackjack; and with a loud grunt he became lethargic. He let the man fall against his own body and dragged him over to a nice, dark spot where he wouldn't be seen, then went over to Erin who was ducking down behind a bench. He didn't like the way the guard she attacked looked laying there, something was off. He put his hands in front of his nose, trying in vain to feel him breathing.

"What the hell just happened?" He snapped. "Why'd you kill this guard? He was barely older than you!" He was having a hard time containing his anger and also keep whispering.

Erin seemed to shrink back a bit at his quiet wrath. "He was a guard, Garrett. Wrong place, wrong time." She gave a half-hearted shrug and peeked around to make sure they weren't seen.

"You haven't changed a bit, have you?"

She turned to look at him, offended. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"It means, I don't kill without thought or good reason, and I don't get paid for it." He glared at her.

She scoffed. "So basically it's okay when you or your new little pet to do it but not me? I see, I get it. But you know that guard," She gestured to the dead man next to her. "He's not going to wake up later and follow our trail to cause any trouble."

"If you were a good thief when any guards woke up you'd be long gone." She rolled her eyes at him. "And Alia saved my life." She looked back at him eyes wide. "In my opinion that falls under the category of 'a good reason'." He remembered seeing her frozen on the roof with her bow, and when was bleeding in a back alley she shed tears for the life she took. Alia may be soft hearted, but he would rather a bit of a cry baby then a cold blooded killer.

Her face scrunched up in a mix of emotions before she darted away from him. All this nonsense was giving him a headache that he really didn't need.

Between a few more silent movements and snarky comments about her dependence on this claw thing that she had they ended up on a roof adjacent to the ceremony room. As he swung down off of the rope he had climbed to get there he had the displeasure of watching her bash another man's face in.

Upon seeing his face twisted with anger she threw her head back and sighed. "What's the matter, Master Thief? You think I might actually beat you to this thing? I'd share. Probably."

"I'm worried you're going to get us both killed." He snarled.

"I can handle myself, okay? I can move faster, I can climb faster, I can-"

"You can kill faster, make mistakes faster. I get it." He cut her off, lacing his words with venom. "You're not in control." He tried to soften his voice to get through to her thick skull. She was making so many mistakes and the last thing he wanted was to hear of her getting killed on the job or hung in the streets for all to see.

She straightened her back and glared at him. "Well, that's why I'm better. So deal with it." He was about half an inch from punching her in the face. "Let's just get the job done." She said and turned to squeeze through a narrow walkway. Garrett took the opportunity to lift her claw tool off her belt. We'll do it without this, he thought to himself.

As he made his way across the large, flat roof of the ceremony room he knelt down beside Erin and peered through the large glass skylight. He could see about a dozen men, including the baron, all in long robes. They opened a chest with a blue stone that was glowing in a mystical manner. All in all it looked like some freaky magic shit that he wanted no part of. He could feel his muscles tense, telling him to run.

"I'm guessing that's what we're after. The Primal Stone." She said smoothly.

"Robes." He said, disgusted. "Robes are always a bad sign."

Down below, the men began talking about 'the awakened' and 'industrial enlightenment' and 'channeling the primal'. The Baron was seemed to be the leader, his arms outstretched over the little blue gem. Two hooded figures did something with a book, and all the others began to chant in some strange language. With the stone at their center, they encircled it and chanted even louder. A strange aura radiated from the primal stone and began to swirl around the would-be cultists.

"Come on, let's go down there this will be fun." Erin said, excited.

But Garrett was already half way across the roof. "No. We're done here. Job's over." Every alarm in his body was going off, telling him to get the hell out of there.

"What? Are you joking?" She asked him incredulously.

"Something's not right here. It's too dangerous." She still had a defiant look on her face. "And you're not ready yet." He said, keeping his eyes steady with hers.

"You know I'm not a kid anymore!" she pouted. "I can do this. I'm going down there, with or without you." She turned and headed back for the skylight.

"Not without this you're not." He said, holding her claw up for her to see.

She looked down at her belt then back up at him. Her face twisted in rage. "What the fuck is your problem?!" She tried to rush him but he dodged her.

"You're mad because I don't want to see you die?" She grabbed for the claw but he swatted her hand away.

"No." She sneered. "You're mad because I didn't turn out to be your little clone. I don't follow 'Garret's super special code' and so you look down on me and never realize my potential!" She shouted in the darkness as a strange wind picked up, and it was coming from below them.

"You can't just _kill_ people Erin! Not without conscience or consequence!"

"Why because you're too weak to?!" She lunged at him and he found himself striking her in the face, hard.

"Because once you kill and shrug it off, every kill after that becomes more and more easy." He said between breaths. She stood there, holding her cheek and glaring at him. "Then everyone around you becomes expendable. Where does it stop, Erin? When you kill Basso? Me? You going to slit the throat of a child if he catches you in his mother's jewelry box?" He was desperate, trying to make her see. But her eyes were clouded with rage.

The stone beneath them began to sway. Garrett turned to see a bluish green light growing strongly from the room below. When his back was turned Erin swatted the claw from his hands. It fell on top of the glass and slid almost to the center. She immediately darted towards the danger, reaching for her tool.

"Don't move!" Garrett pleaded. He heard voices and saw the Thief Taker General down on the grounds below. They had been spotted. His heart pounded in his chest, adrenaline pulsed through his veins, begging him to run. But he had left Erin before, and he just couldn't bring himself to do it again.

She looked back at him, her eyes filled with panic as the glass below her gave way. He leaped forward and reached over the edge, just barely grabbing her forearm. The broken glass was cutting into his chest and under his arm as he dangled with her added weight. Looking past her hanging frame was the men with the robes, chanting and swaying as the light and smoke swirled around them and the stone.

"Garret!" Erin all but sobbed. "I'm slipping! Give me the claw!"

He looked over and sure enough it was there. With his free hand he tried to reach for it. He gritted his teeth and stretched his arm as far as it would go, but before he could attempt to curl his fingers around it he felt Erin's hand slip through his. He watched as she fell, dread and fear etched on her face. But she didn't hit the ground. She landed on a ball of light that was emitting from the stone beneath her, she looked around confused, but alive.

The walls began to shake as the building around them started to crumble from whatever black magic the robed men were performing. He tried to roll off the glass but it shattered underneath him. He squinted his eyes to try to keep glass from getting in them as he turned in the air and fired his grappling hook in a hail mary attempt to save his ass. He jarred as he reached the end of the rope, he didn't know what it could have hooked on but he wasn't about to question miracles. He closed his eyes as glass and wood rained down upon him. He only squinted open his right eye as he swung just a few feet above Erin, her arms and legs were outstretched and she wasn't moving anymore. He hit the wall as it all came crashing down around him, and the next thing he knew he was plunged into darkness.

*Well, this is where they left off in the game so this is where I'm going to leave off too. Next chapter will be up soon, hopefully, because I feel like I'm on a roll.


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8: More than a Year

Garrett swam in the darkness for what seemed like a short while. It was like sticking his head underwater, it was calm and quiet at first, but soon his air was running out and he began to panic. In a matter of minutes, he had to resurface. When he woke he expected to see the rubble of the room. The last thing he remembered was the ceremony room caving in around him. Erin. He had to find her and get them out of there before they were caught.

But when he opened his eyes he was met with a shabby roof just a few feet from his head and the sound of people bustling around him. He froze, trying to figure out just what the hell happened. His head was still fuzzy and he was finding it a little difficult to keep his thoughts in line. He looked around to get a bearing of where he was. He was laid out in a cart, covered from view. Erin wasn't anywhere that he could see, but he could just make out the backs of two men in tattered clothes.

"Hey, it looks like he's waking up! Quit slacking we gotta get him into The City before they call the lockdown." One said to the other.

Lockdown? Why was The City in lockdown? Were they that desperate to find him?

"Pace yourself, boy. We just have to get him to the clock tower safe and sound and then we'll be rosy."

He tensed. How did they know he lived in the clock tower? Unless Basso sent them…

"Where's this cart going?" A guard asked, addressing the man on the left.

"Bakers in Stone Market." The man on the right said.

"Was I talking to you?" The guard bellowed and struck him across the face. Just then a commotion broke out and he turned his attention to that.

"Makes you miss the old watch…" One of them mumbled as they pulled him through the large wooden gates. Garrett narrowed his eyes. If he was entering The City, then at some point he must have left. Basso must have sent a rescue squad. He smirked to himself, that old fool. He would have to make it up to him somehow.

As they rolled through the streets he knew something was wrong. The City wasn't exactly a glorious place; their law and order department was funded by a corrupt government that was in turn funded by the old, rich families that had their dirty fingers in everything. But for the most part if you lived on the right side of the law and didn't owe anyone with resources any money, you could live a decent life. Most of the citizens spent their days with their blinders on, turning their eyes to the evils and corruption so long as they were left alone to raise their children and throw their parties. And that was fine, the higher ups only cared that their factories had people that worked too hard for too little money. The scales were in no way even, but they were still within a functional range.

But he could smell the acrid odor of rot, and the cries of people all around them.

"The nightmares! Make them stop! Can't someone please make this stop?!"

One of the men pulling the cart shook his head in sadness. "The Gloom's getting worse." He said. " Everywhere 'cept Auldale. Someone should do something."

What the hell is The Gloom? He thought.

"All he cares about is progress!" A gruff voice shouted in the distance. "Do you want to see more of these bloody pipes everywhere? That's not food for our bellies! That's not medicine for the sick and dying!"

He lifted his head slightly to see a guard approaching a group of men that seemed to be getting more irritated by the second. "You! On the box! That's enough!"

"And YOU!" The man on the box shouted, pointing his finger at the guards, a mad look on his face. "Don't you think that you're safe just because you shovel shit for the rich! The Baron has a noose for every one of us!" He gestured above him, and Garrett's eyes widened as he craned his neck and saw almost half a dozen bodies swinging in the wind, hung from their necks right over the streets. "But change is coming! Orion is going to bring change! The Baron will burn!" He was promptly dragged from his stand by his skinny arms. "See?" he yelled as they drug him away. "They're scared of the truth!"

The man on his right glanced back. "Keep your head down!" He hissed.

"You there!" A guard yelled. "Who are you talking to?"

Garrett ducked down, cursing under his breath. Since when did the watch become so paranoid?

The man on his left lashed out, knocking the guard to the ground. "RUN!" He yelled and hauled the cart as fast as he could. He heard the shrill sound of an arrow cutting through the air, and the man on his right fell. He winced as they continued down the bumpy road, he didn't want anyone to die. The man to his left suddenly dropped the cart and sprinted on down the road a way before turning a corner and disappearing. Garrett waited until the guards passed him up to give chase before he slowly emerged from the back of the cart. He crouched at first, making sure he was alone before he straightened himself to get a good look around. The City used to be lively, if anything. Even the slums. But now everything just looked like it had one foot in the grave. He was drawn to the darkness of an alley, and slipped away undetected.

Once he was sure he was alone, walking through a dark street as the rain began to fall from the darkened clouds overhead; he patted himself down. He still had his bow and arrows, his picks, his razor and wire cutters, his daggers. He scowled when he found Erin's claw. Upon closer inspection he realized that she had just modified her blackjack to be more deadly. He decided to hang onto it for when he found her, if she was still alive. He shook his head; he could feel a headache coming on. He needed to get to the clock tower and clear his head.

How long had he been knocked out? He thought as he looked around the dirty streets. Using the back roads no one bothered to even register his existence, so he could walk around relatively openly. Everyone he came across was skinny and sickly, and there were some that wandered with a lost look in their eyes, mumbling about nightmares. He passed one man that was in the process of scratching his ear right off the side of his head.

He lunged forward and clung to him. "I… I see you." He stuttered and began to violently poke himself in the eye. Garrett struggled to make the maniac let him go, but his scrawny arms were latched on with a death grip. "We all can see you!" He shrieked as his eyeball burst and blood ran down his face. He was finally able to throw him off and climb an awning and get to the safety of higher ground. He watched as the crazed man stumbled away, still bleeding from his gory socket.

"What the fuck is going on around here?" He asked himself as he turned his eyes upwards to see the clock tower looming above him. There was old, rickety scaffolding around the bottom levels. He narrowed his eyes. Someone had tried to get in there but it didn't look like they made it very far before they gave up. His traps hopefully saved his reputation as a vengeful ghost while he was away. The clock was stuck at 1:26 so he assumed that no one had made it to the top. Good, that meant no one had been messing with his stuff.

He made his way up the tower, passing his traps as he went. A few of them had been set off, and he could see the fading blood stains where someone lost a part of them venturing where they didn't belong. He usually found comfort in the silence, but not when he was home. His echoing footsteps put him on edge. He missed the creaking and groaning of the clockwork and with it gone he actually felt a little sad.

He opened the creaking door and looked around. Everything seemed to be in place even though the moonlight cast an eerie glow on his surroundings. He walked up the stairs and dragged his hand across the table. Everything was covered in about an inch of dust.

"How long was I gone?" He asked the emptiness. At his words a flock a birds flew from their roosts overhead in an array of flapping wings and loose feathers. He watched all but one scurry through the open window, a small magpie stayed behind, hopping around to get his attention.

"Jenivere." He called to her. That was Basso's bird. As he approached she spread her wings and took off just like the others, and it wasn't until then that Garrett noticed all the small matchboxes that littered the window sill. There was at least a dozen, some looked relatively recent and others were covered with dust, just like his hideout. He picked up one of the older ones.

WHERE IS THE STONE? B. He tossed it aside and picked up another.

WHAT'S GOING ON WITH YOU? WHERE IS ERIN? B.

FORGET THE STONE. I GAVE YOUR JOBS TO ALIA. YOU BETTER NOT BE DEAD. B.

WHERE THE HELL ARE YOU? COME SEE ME WHEN YOU GET BACK. B.

He sighed and looked around. There's no way he could have been unconscious for this long. It seemed like he had been gone for months, but he felt like he was only out for a few minutes. But how else could he explain going dark in Northcrest Manor and waking up outside The City? He pinched the bridge of his nose, something just wasn't adding up. He tried to concentrate on what he should do. That's when his vision clouded, then became sharper than it ever had. He startled a bit then looked around. He could see the pitch black corners as if it were daylight, and certain things were covered in a bluish hue. He had seen this color before, it was the same aura from that wretched stone.

"What the hell happened to me?" He groaned. He noticed that the matchboxes were lit up, his head cleared and his thoughts became sharper and organized. He needed to see Basso, first and foremost.

BASSO'S OFFICE

He slipped in through his usual window. He saw Basso hunched over a box, moving things around. As he made his way in the darkness around to the front of him he stiffened. Then he pulled out a large knife and spun around, looking for whatever had the hairs on his neck standing up. Garrett couldn't help but smirk. Same old Basso.

"I would have went for the pickle jar, Basso." He said, causing the round man to jump back. "A lot more weight."

"Garret…" He said breathlessly. "Shit… I see you still can't work a door." He straightened himself slightly. "You don't come see me. You don't write." His voice cracked slightly before he became angry. "I thought both you and Erin had been killed in the mansion attack! So just where the hell have you been?!"

The thief didn't know what to make of his own emotions. All he could muster up was a small shrug. "I don't know." He muttered honestly.

"You don't know." He scoffed. "Fine forget it." He raised his hands defensively before reaching for a crate. "Far be it from me to pry about where you've been for the last fucking year." He coughed and set a crate down on his desk as Garrett glared intensely.

He had been gone for _a year_?

"I don't have time for this. Especially with the Baron's new duty on opium thanks to this gloom sickness. Not to mention the Thief Taker General's black tax squeezing us… Entrepreneurs."

"What's a 'gloom sickness'?" He asked, taking a seat at Basso's desk and crossing his foot over his knee.

"Oh they didn't have it where you've been hiding?" He spat. "Then maybe you should have stayed there. It something that's going around, starts off like the flu. Then you stop sleeping and start hearing voices. They say the crazy ones that don't die from their lungs collapsing try to rip their ears and eyes out to stop the hallucinations." He shuffled around some papers before making eye contact. He squinted and leaned over his desk. "What the fuck is in your eye?" He asked.

Basso produced a mirror so he could see that his right eye's iris and pupil were a cloudy blue color instead of their normal brown. He gently ran his finger over his eyeball, thinking that maybe it would come off but it didn't. He closed his left eye, then his right. He wasn't partially blind. "I don't know." He said again. Then the crazy man flashed in his mind.

" _We all can see you_!" His shriek echoed in his brain.

He shook the thoughts from his head. "Where's Alia?" he asked as Basso fed his bird.

"Who knows." He said, a tinge of disappointment in his voice.

"What happened? I got your messages. You gave her my jobs so I'm assuming she's alive?"

Basso sat down, sadness etched on his face. "Last I heard… She was stealing kids."

"Stealing… kids? As in baby humans?"

"Yup."

"What the hell are you talking about?" He couldn't imagine her hurting anyone, especially children.

"I had her doing most of my jobs when you disappeared." He started, fiddling with a small knife. "Then everything around here went to hell, literally. The Gloom struck, the black tax, the new watch and their not so gentle ways. The Thief Taker has a brand new hatred for blackhands. Anyone caught stealing gets hanged as I'm sure you've seen. Then she starts taking jobs from this putz in the slums, and the night she refuses a job, a baby is stolen right from her crib. Then another the next week, and two the next. The pattern kept up. She didn't even try to hide it. I would send her to a place for something and when she came back the watch was on alert looking for that man's sons."

Garrett glared, his heart pounding in his chest. What the hell was she up to? He had to find out. "I'll get to the bottom of this. What do you think? Slave trafficking?" The words were sour on his tongue. If she had her hand in something that dirty he would cut it off himself.

"I don't think so but who knows." Basso shook his head sadly. "I asked her about it and all she could say was that she was 'doing the right thing' and not to concern myself with it. She rarely comes around anymore…"

He stood, anger rippling through his body. "Know where I can find her?"

Basso shook his head. "You taught her well. She's a ghost."

Garrett scowled and left The Crippled Burrick. He dreaded that this was going to happen. He had made another monster.

THE SOUTH QUARTER

Alia stepped through the window of a bedroom. A woman gasped on the bed, clawing at her throat as she tried to breathe past the blood pooling in her lungs. This house was infected; they were all hallucinating. So she didn't really have to worry about being quiet, they would assume she wasn't real anyways. She helped herself to the jewelry box, then she moved down the hallway, peeking into every door as she went. She passed the office and bathroom, both were empty and had no valuables. The maids quarters were in disarray as a woman's body hung from the rafters, her eyes had been clawed out and judging by the blood on her hands the young servant had done it herself. In her pockets was a nice gold pocket watch and some coin. She didn't need it now though so the thief helped herself.

The next room over was the nursery. Alia took a deep breath before she slowly opened the door, then quietly stepped over the toys on the floor and peeked over the edge of the crib. There, wrapped in a soft blue blanket was a beautiful baby boy with a head full of blonde curls. She finally let the breath she was holding out, she could feel the tears of relief threaten to spill from her eyes as she saw the faint rise and fall of his peaceful breaths. The blanket was embroidered with the name 'Micah' in gold letters.

She gently picked him up and smiled. That new baby smell was something magical and couldn't be duplicated. He didn't even stir.

"It'll all be over soon, little Micah." She cooed before she turned and left the house with the little boy cradled in her arms.


	9. Chapter 9

Okay so I know it's been forever since I updated and I am sincerely sorry! I just got very busy and had a lot of personal things to deal with. But I hope to get back on track and keep updating pretty regularly from now on!

There is some torture (will be much worse next chapter) in this chapter so you've been warned.

Chapter 9: The Mad Doctor

The room was small, dark and damp. She couldn't see, but the chills running down her bare arms and the instant echoes of her breathing told her enough. A thick cloth was tied tightly around her head and her hands were tied behind her and secured to the chair she was sat in. Her legs were strapped to the legs of her chair as well, leaving her desperately immobile and helpless. She didn't know how long she sat there, but her legs had gone numb long ago and she lost track. Maybe she had fallen asleep at some point, but she wasn't really sure. Her head throbbed, and when she opened and closed her mouth she felt what must have been dried blood caked onto her cheek.

She could just make out the sound of footsteps as they drew closer and stopped behind her. The creaking of a heavy iron door shattered the silence and made her wince. But now she knew that the door was behind her, and any information was better than no information. She didn't try to hide the fact that she took in a deep breath as her captor walked past her, trying to take in a scent or something that would give her a clue as to where she was; but all she could tell was that this person was very clean and smelled like medicine. She heard weight flop down, there must have been a chair in front of her, and the annoying breathing of someone that either had asthma, or was overweight. The faint wheezes echoed off of the stone walls and repeated in her ear, grating on her nerves.

"What do you think we should do with you, thief?" A man's voice asked her. He sounded like a con artist right from the start.

She refused to answer, not until she got more information.

It sounded like he shifted in his chair, and she could smell smoky breath right in front of her face. "I convinced the Thief Taker to let me have you. He was going to string you up, you know. If I didn't know any better; I'd say he had a personal vendetta on you. It took a lot of convincing that what I had in store would be much worse than death."

She had to concentrate hard to keep her face still, void of any reaction or emotion. At least now she knew how she got here from the prisons beneath the Thief Takers manse.

After the incident that took the lives of her master and his former apprentice, Alia had shut down completely. She holed up in her apartment for two months. She locked her door and wouldn't answer it, and locked her windows as well. Even went as far as to hang blankets over them so that Basso couldn't send anyone via the thief's highway to check on her. She had to imagine that he might have thought she died in the little shit hole she called home. So he was surprised when she showed up again out of nowhere, demanding Garrett's jobs.

At first he refused, but he soon learned that two months recovering didn't dampen her skills or her vigor for the job. In fact, what he didn't know was that in those two months she was holed up, that's all she did was strengthen her body and her skills. Garrett had given her a training lock that reset its tumblers every time it was picked successfully, and she was now one of the fastest lockpicks that the fence had ever seen. Her body was now a strong, efficient machine. Every muscle was sculpted for a purpose. She was faster, nimbler, and could move as silent as a breeze.

She did very well for months. That's all she did was work, racking up the coin and the reputation along with it. Until about two weeks ago, when she was caught by the Thief Taker himself. He was waiting for her in that basement, as if he had known that she was going to be there.

"What are you thinking about?" The man asked.

Her only answer was silence.

"If you're not going to cooperate this is going to be much more difficult than it needs to be." He warned. He stood, and she felt the brush of fabric against her face as he untied her blindfold and let it drop into her lap.

She squinted against the light, surprised that there was any at all. The crisp autumn air breezed above her, only making her cell more cold and wet. A quick look around told her that her new cell was round, with a large hole in the ceiling on top of very tall, stone walls. A heavy steel grate was laid over the top, and the holes looked to be too small for her to fit through. Not that she wasn't going to try once she got out of this damned chair.

Her eyes fell onto the man before her and she was shocked that he looked… well, pretty normal. He was a round man with sandy brown hair that fell loosely over thin wire rimmed glasses. He wore a long white coat over a professional suit. He held a clipboard with notes she couldn't make out. What bothered her was his eyes. They were beady and so dark they looked black. There was no light in his eyes, whether that light was supposed to be emotion, or a soul, or even an indicator of a heartbeat. Her stomach sunk when she realized that the man in front of her was absolutely insane, but in the worst way because he looked okay on the outside.

"You can call me ." He said with a sick smile. "We're going to be spending a lot of time together." His round belly bounced as he chuckled. He seemed to study her face for a minute before adjusting his tie. "You know, it's almost such a shame to waste that pretty face." He cocked his head to the side. "I've always had a thing for dark hair. One of the reasons I was so pleased that the Primal chose Erin." He trailed off dreamily.

Alia narrowed her eyes at the name. "Erin's dead." Her voice sounded colder than her cell, and echoed dangerously.

His face bunched up with a small smile. "No, my dear. She's more alive now than she's ever been."

Her heart raced as a cold sweat broke out over her brow. "And Garrett?" She asked quietly.

He tapped his pen against his lip thoughtfully. "Nope. I don't know that name. Sorry."

"If Erin is alive, then Garrett must be."

"We only recovered the girl."

"Where is she?"

"Oh she's here. But I doubt you'll want to see her." He said knowingly.

She stared, waiting for the punch line.

He chuckled heartily again, a creepy laugh that didn't reach his eyes. "How do you think we knew where to find you?" He leaned forward, elbows on his knees so that she had to turn her head to avoid a collision with his; but this allowed him to whisper directly into her ear. "She gave you up." He threw himself back into his seat as he laughed, the legs of the chair raising off the ground and then slamming back from his weight.

She felt her gut twist with rage. She didn't think a dead girl would be her downfall, but here she was.

"I guess there's no honor amongst thieves." He said with a sneer.

"So you caught another thief?" She scoffed. "You act like you've cured The Gloom. I think you need to step down off that high horse and wallow in the shit with the rest of us."

His face turned serious in a flash. "Oh no, my dear you misunderstand. You are more than just a thief, so much more. See, the Primal chose Erin, but her body and mind aren't strong enough to handle all that raw power by herself." He gripped his clipboard like the fucking psycho nerd he appeared to be. "That's where you come in." He leaned back towards her. "All our other attempts. They… failed. But you, you have promise. That's why we had to have you." His eyes trailed her body lecherously.

Taking the opportunities that were presented to her, she hocked up a big wad of spit and launched it into his face. She smirked as he flailed around, trying to wipe it out of his eye. She was sick and tired of hearing this lunatic spew his bullshit.

That earned her a hard punch to her cheek that whipped her head around so fast her chair toppled over with her in it. Her head bounced off the stone floor and all she could hear was a high pitched ringing in her ears. Her eyes blurred, but she could just make out the door which was heavy looking and solid iron. The doctor leaned out the door and while cursing her existence he motioned for the two men that must have been waiting just outside the door.

She was hauled up roughly while still attached to her seat and drug out of the room. She threw her weight around, trying in vain to break free.

"Let me go you dickless fucks!" Her voice echoed in the shiny halls.

"Shut up, thief whore." One of the grunts tossed over his shoulder.

Even through her pain she managed to roll her eyes. "Oh how original." She spat. "You knuckle dragging swamp bitch. Now that's how you insult someone."

The doctor stormed behind them, his eyes boring into hers. "I might just do something about that mouth of yours while you're on the table.

The table? Oh boy, she sure knew how to get herself into trouble.

She learned that the table was down a few flights of stairs in what she could only guess was a basement. Various tools and instruments were on dingy trays and tables, with a long steel rectangle in the center fitted with leather straps and chains used to hold someone against their will. There was a large vat of some sort of blue sludge that upon looking at it made her hair stand up on the back of her neck. The sign above the door read THERAPY ROOM 3.

They were going to torture her, that much she found obvious.

When they untied her from the chair she instantly lashed out. Since they took all of her tools, her only weapons were the ones she was born with. She raked her nails down one man's face and kicked another in the groin. She was able to slip past them but the doctor, who she now realized was freakishly tall, grabbed her shoulders and bent down and his forehead met hers.

She felt like she had been head-butted by a train. Her vision went splotchy, and her legs crumpled beneath her. When she hit her knees, she felt her head jerk back. Goon number one drug her by her hair back to the table. He didn't seem to appreciate the new claw marks down his face as he kept touching them gingerly.

She was thrown like a sack of potatoes onto the cold steel table. The breath was knocked out of her and she was instantly flipped over onto her chest. Iron shackles were fastened to her wrist and then chained to the floor below her, and the same was done to her legs.

Even with all the pain she didn't start sobbing until she felt the knife start at the nape of her neck and cut all the way down her spine, flaying her shirt open and exposing her back. She struggled with all her might, yanking on the shackles so hard that she felt blood running down her fingers.

They wasted no time in making the first cut, slicing into her flesh with what she could only guess was the same knife they had used to expose her. An animalistic screech erupted from deep in her throat, a sound she didn't even know she could make. They started at her shoulders, carving away at her skin. She felt warm blood run down her sides and pool beneath her ribs, soaking through the tattered remains of her shirt.

Whenever she felt like she was going to faint from the pain they would stick her in the arm with a long needle and shoot something into her veins. Whatever it was made her heart race and her nerves dance from the top of her head to the bottoms of her feet, so she could feel every single sensation. She felt the blade cut through the layers of her skin, flaying her flesh open and exposing the tenderness that it was made to protect. Beneath those protective layers laid a pain that was white hot against her eyes. Deep tissue wasn't meant to hit the air like it was, and the pain felt like fire that scorched her body and mind. It wasn't until she tasted the coppery thickness of her own blood that she realized she had bit her lip so hard that it had split.

She fought them with every ounce of her strength, which was failing fast. They had to hold her still to make their cuts, and every now and again she would jerk and pay the price as the blade scraped against her shoulder blade, or a rib, or a vertebrae.

She looked around the room with wild eyes. She watched their sardonic smiles as they cut her. They were enjoying making her bleed, and the doctor remained ever vigilant, taking notes. Her blood stained their coats, and she was sure that she had lost too much and that death would come soon to take her.

But just as soon as it had started it stopped. She heard the ragged breathing of the doctor and his demons, exerted from the effort of carving her like a turkey while also holding her down.

"I think we can take a quick break, gentlemen. Give it some time to circulate in her system." The doctor said.

And they left her there. Cold, losing more blood every second, with her back laid open. Every heave of her body from her sobbing hurt, but trying to deal with that amount of pain without crying seemed to hurt even more. She had never been hurt like this, and her mind didn't know how to process what was happening to her. It tied her stomach in knots and made her want to vomit.

She cried until her lungs were sore and her extremities went limp. Her hands were numb from blood loss and hanging over the edge of the table. When she heard the door open she tried to beg them to stop, but the only noise that came out of her tired lungs was a pathetic croak, and all they did was laugh.

The doctor squatted down, his beady black eyes met with hers. She tried to keep her vision focused on him, but it was so hard to keep them on anything as they wanted to roll back into her head and pass out.

"I won't let you die, Alia." He said tenderly, moving a strand of hair from her face. He looked deep into her panicking eyes and smiled. "Not yet."

I'm going to end here so this chapter isn't so long. Plus I wanted to update so you guys didn't think I abandoned the story. If you have the time, drop me a review and let me know what you think. All criticism is welcome!


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter 10: Reunited

When the last rays of the day were painting the sky in pretty purples and oranges Alia was leaning against the cool stone of a winery, watching the people tiredly as they passed by. She had woken up early for no reason and it had gotten under her skin. The people of the City seemed to wander aimlessly, and for a moment she pitied them. They worked to afford their homes so they had a place to sleep so they could get up and go to work. It was the vicious cycle of life that couldn't be avoided unless you wanted to live like a hermit up in the mountains. And that was just no fun.

She sighed and rolled her head around, stretching the muscles in her neck; they were sore from the rigorous workouts she had been subjecting her body to. Being locked up in an asylum and tortured regularly had a habit of atrophying the muscles.

She shook her head of the thoughts before her mind recalled the details, because thinking about the Moira Asylum gave her visions that she would rather not see thanks to the Primal that they had forced into her body.

She grimaced as the marks that started at the base of her skull and traveled all the way down her spine burned; as if it knew she was thinking about it.

She didn't have a job lined up and was terribly bored. She mulled over going to see Basso but decided against it. It tugged at her heart strings to avoid him the way that she did; but he would pry into what she was doing and he just wouldn't understand and so it was best to not even open that can of worms. Besides, the less he knew the safer he would be. She sighed, debating whether to look for an opportunity or just go back to her house and go back to bed. She hadn't slept right in weeks and maybe a light coma is what she needed. She looked down at herself; she wasn't decked out in her full on heist gear, but with the coin she'd made she was able to pay off Basso and buy herself some extra gear that wasn't so conspicuous. It made walking around amongst the citizens much easier.

The wind kicked up and blew her loose hair right into her face and she struggled for a bit to get it out of her eyes and mouth, sputtering to get the strands off her tongue as a few strangers turned to giggle at her.

Her shoulders sank as she came to grips with the fact that she just wasn't in the mood for stealing today; and lifted herself up and headed back up the street to home.

Her apartment, along with everything she owned, had been lost to her when she was captured. When her rent hadn't been paid her landlord sold her possessions and rented her room out to someone else, which was typical. So she had to start from scratch. Luckily, the Watch was stretched pretty thin with the Gloom and the strangulation of the citizens all in the name of 'progress'. The word sent a shiver down her spine. If only the Baron knew just what kind of chaos he was unleashing.

The Primal didn't want progress. She knew because the damn thing was constantly whispering in her head. She supposed that it would have been her civic duty to try to talk to the Baron, or anyone that would listen; and tell them that what they were doing was going to plunge the city to hell, literally. She could be like that asshole Orion and try to start a rebellion; but she couldn't bring herself to care about the people around her, save a select few. She had seen what they were capable of, and she really believed that if the Primal wanted to sink the City in the sea, then so be it. What this place needed was a new plague and a few disasters. Scrap the whole thing and start over. Maybe that was a fucked up way to view the only home that she had ever known; but all she ever got from being soft was getting hurt, and she was over that shit.

The flashbacks rocked her violently. She was haunted by the screams inside the asylum; echoing inside of her head just like they did against the stone walls. She could smell the coppery scent of blood as if she was still covered in it.

 _You're going to sacrifice the lives of all these innocent people, and for what? Revenge? What about the people here that don't deserve to die?_ She could still hear the doctor's voice, muffled by the glass that had separated them. She was haunted by her actions that night, the night she finally escaped from the asylum. The doctor was good at his job. He had known how to fuck with her head; by appealing to her weak heart and humanity. But now she had the primal. It had whispered to her, convinced her that there were none worth saving. The needs of Alia outweighed the fate of them all.

 _God will sort you out._ She had said before she pulled the lever.

She laid around her shack lazily until the bars were giving their last call to the drunks in their establishments; and restlessness set in. She took to the rooftops, even if it was just a run around the slums maybe it would burn off some energy and she could get some sleep. With a running leap, she bound across a long gap, landing with a roll and right back on her feet. She didn't break stride, letting the wide grin break out on her face. She liked going on runs. With the City beneath her and the stars and smog above, it was a reminder of her freedom and her strength. The civilians beneath her didn't have to worry about being physically fit enough to scale the side of a building or if their minds were sharp enough to evade traps. But she was, and it separated her from them.

She stopped high up on a sloped roof, sitting down to catch her breath. It was only a few hours until the dawn, but she wasn't tired. Out of breath, but not sleepy.

A commotion below her caught her attention. She crawled over to the edge of the shingles and peered down into a back street. Her eyes quickly penetrated the darkness and she saw three of the Watch cornering a young woman.

"You're past curfew, miss." One sneered.

"Violators of the Baron's laws must be punished."

The woman cowered down against the old wood behind her, her chest heaving in sobs. "Please… I just went to try to fetch my husband from the bar. I won't do it again I swear! Punish him!" She pleaded.

The man that seemed to be leading the assault lunged forward and grabbed her arms, holding her close to him. "But punishing you would be so much more fun!" He grinned as she struggled against him. "You seem like enough woman to take it from me and the boys with no problem!" They all burst into mocking laughter as another man came up behind her and began the process of removing her dress.

Alia slid silently into the darkness behind them as they tore at the woman's clothes and flesh like animals. Her heart raced until she was sure they would hear it beating out of her chest and give her position away. She couldn't just turn her head, not to this. The watch was corrupt before, but now? This was too much, even if every nerve in her body told her to go the other way, that it happened all the time and none of those other people got rescued. But she knew what it felt like to have unwanted hands on her flesh and it made her blood boil.

The watchman holding the womans arms forcefully kissed her as his friend yanked her dress, exposing the thin fabric of the cheap corset that served as her underclothes. The off white of the fabric almost glowed in the darkness. The third man began to clear a spot on the ground where they were no doubt going to lay her down and rape her.

Alia waited until they all had their backs to her before she sprang. She stayed low and drove the heel of her foot into the back of the main aggressor's knee. He was the largest, and had to go down first. She didn't have her blackjack with her, but her arms were strong and her elbows were sharp. She drove her bent arm into his face, and as the blood spurted from his nose she knew he would be unconscious before he hit the ground. But how long he would stay like that was uncertain. She had the second man's arm before he could piece together what was happening, and slung him into the wall. The third rapist wrapped his arm around her neck and tried to sweep her feet out from beneath her, but she moved her hips away from him and drove her elbow into his abdomen. He bent forward, but the man she threw into the wall had bounced back and grabbed her by her hair, dragging her to the ground with him.

He pinned her on her stomach beneath him. "Who's this pretty little tart?" He hissed in her ear. She could smell the alcohol on his breath as he grabbed a handful of her backside, squeezing painfully. The man she hit in the gut staggered to his feet, coughing. "You this bitches friend?" He gestured to the girl that they had tried to lay down, but she was stumbling away, trying to put her clothes back on. "Aw, fuck. Ronn she got away. I liked the tits on that one!"

The man on top of her, Ronn, kept her pinned as she struggled beneath him. "I've got her friend!" He gasped out as he fought her to stay down. "And this one's got an ass to die for!"

She grit her teeth as she attempted to shift her hips out from underneath the ball of filth on top of her. If she could get her legs underneath her then she could roll him and run.

Just then the weight that held her down vanished, and she heard a couple of grunts. Turning her head, she saw a tall dark figure before her as Ronn's friend crumpled unconscious to the ground next to the still forms of his friends. She struggled to roll over and get on her feet to flee, but her dark savior was faster than her. The stranger wrapped his hands around her forearms and hauled her to her feet. She glared up into a hood that hid his face.

"What are you doing here?" He asked forcefully. "Are you fucking stupid? It was three against one!" He jolted her as if to shake some sense in to her, but she didn't respond, only stared in total fear. Her mind buzzed so loud that his voice seemed far away, electric currents shot through her body as if his fingers were live wires.

One of his hands released her to peel back his hood and lower his cowl, and she felt her legs turn to jello.

"Alia." He said, softly, a small smile playing at the corners of those lips that she adored.

"Wha… Garrett?" She whispered weakly. "You… You're here. But you're dead." She searched his face, every scar and every line from him scowling all the time was exactly where it should be.

He released her, but continued to stare down at her intensely. "Obviously not."

She shuddered, feeling the tears burning the corners of her eyes. Her head throbbed, but not painfully. It was almost like there were visions that were trying to force their way through, but couldn't. "Where were you?" She murmured through closed teeth, trying to stop the tears from spilling over. He was here, in front of her, and he was real and alive. But all this time, where was he?

"I don't know, for sure." He said with a one shouldered shrug.

"You don't know?" She said, the anger rising in her at his indifference. What the fuck kind of excuse was that? "You were gone for over a year and you don't know!?" She shoved past him, only to whirl back around to his surprised face. "It was a shitty thing to do. I wasn't ready to be left alone... I… They…" Her voice quivered, and she was failing at keeping her voice even remotely quiet. Her breathing was becoming erratic. She could feel visions and flashbacks trying to force their way into her mind again, but they weren't getting through.

His eyes narrowed as he approached her again carefully, but there was something dark in his eyes that made her skin tingle when he looked at her. She hoped that his heated gaze was of desire, because it made her core ignite as she recalled the last time they had been intimate. Oh so wrong, but oh so right. "What are you talking about? I've been looking everywhere for you ever since I got back."

But she stepped back. She had to get her head out of the gutter. It didn't matter how good he was in bed, dammit she was a woman scorned. "Just forget it." She spat. Then she realized that once again, she looked weak in front of him. After everything she had survived without him, this is what he comes up on. "Why did you interfere? I could have handled them." She crossed her arms under her breasts and did her best to glare at him when deep down she wanted to throw herself at him. Why did he have such an effect on her? Oh that's right. Because Alia was really a sheep that followed her master blindly, even to the slaughterhouse. She scowled inwardly at herself; wondering why he still had her loyalty. As if he had stolen that, too, and she would never get it back.

There were voices approaching, probably more of the watch. She saw Garrett's signature scowl etch into the lines of his face. "It's not safe here. Let's go."

"I'm not going anywhere with you." She said darkly, trying to let her anger override any other emotion or impulsiveness. "It hasn't been safe here for a long time but that wasn't enough for you to come back then so I don't understand why it matters now. I've been doing just fine without you."

"Alia." He said sternly, breaking out his teacher voice. She had to think really hard to not bite her lip. She really liked his commanding tone. "Don't argue with me now. I'll explain, I promise. But we need to get out of here." The voices were getting louder, and one of the guards that Garrett had taken down let out a long groan as he began to stir.

The reasonable thing to do would have been to go with him, but she wasn't feeling like being reasonable; she felt like being petty. "I'll be fine. You go do whatever it is that you're up to now that your back, and I'll go do my thing." She turned to walk away but strong fingers wrapped around her arm and spun her around. Garrett had slammed her into the wall, pinning her body with his; one hand holding her wrist above her head, the other on her neck. His hips pinned her other arm down and also kept his midsection out of reach from her knees.

His eyes were dark, and angry; save for his right eye which was coated in a blue haze, one that she knew well. It sent shivers down her spine.

"Oh you're going to do _your_ thing, are you? You mean stealing kids?" His lips twitched at her surprised gasp. "Basso told me. Your little slave trade business? It ends. Now." His gaze bored into hers. But she couldn't keep the hurt expression from her face. That's what they thought she was doing? Surely they both knew her better than that. "I should kill you." His deep voice interrupted her thoughts; although his threat was coated in sadness, and the darkness in his voice didn't reach his eyes as his fingers tightened around her throat. "I didn't want you to turn into this…" He winced, as if the declaration hurt him.

"Garrett, wait." She panted; partly because she was scared shitless and the other because his body was so close to hers. It made her head swim and her skin burn. She had missed his hands on her, that was certain. "You really think I would be in the slave trade?" She couldn't keep the pain out of her voice that cracked even though she wanted to be strong. He was ready to kill her for something that he didn't understand. Which wasn't exactly fair.

"Why else are you kidnapping? They call you Child Snatcher." He hissed into her ear; which even though he could snap her neck at any moment still made her shiver with want.

She closed her eyes and swallowed. Get a grip on yourself, old girl. "It's the Gloom. I'm taking them to Audale. It's the only place that hasn't been completely infected." His hand loosened on her throat, but only slightly. "The watch is on my ass about it because they usually take the kids from sick homes and take them to the asylum." Her voice shook as she spoke, haunting memories flashed in front of her eyes. Blood and screams echoed in her mind as she recalled a weak, bloody hand sliding down the glass. "I know what they're doing to them if they get there, Garrett. It's worse than death. I can hide them in Audale that's all I'm doing it for I swear." She let out a nervous bark of a laugh. "I don't even get paid. It's like a side project."

Garrett considered her words for only a second or two, then softened his grip but didn't let go of her. His eyes darted to the side, down at the end of the street the soft glow of the watch's torches were making their way quickly to them. "Let's go." He snapped, then pointed a finger at her threateningly. "Don't argue with me."

"Where?" She said, missing his warmth as he left her and scaled a nearby awning, heading up to the thieves' highway. And just like old times, she followed him like a damn puppy.

"My place." He said as he ushered her towards the haunted clock tower in Stonemarket.

000

He could tell it was strange to her being back inside the clock tower. She looked around nervously, like a cat in a new home. She was angry with him, that much he could tell for sure. He was relieved that she wasn't selling stolen kids to the slavers, though. He dreaded having to kill her; and seriously considered only punishing her, had it been what he thought it was. He couldn't deny that he left her too soon; so any failure of hers was also his. He watched her out of the corner of his eye as he stripped his cloak and bow. He wished he could say it was pure dumb luck that let him find her, but it wasn't. He had been sitting in an alley, stewing angrily on his situation when the primal in his eye awakened and pointed him in her direction. It led him right to her, actually. Although he didn't understand it; whatever those freaks in the robes were fooling with was proving quite useful.

Her stormy eyes were wide, looking around in wonder. She thought he was dead just like everyone else, so it must have been like stepping into a museum. It was still dusty in his hideout, but he was trying to get it all cleaned up. He couldn't help but watch her as he removed his tool belt and kicked his shoes off. She looked a little thin, like she hadn't been eating right. He'd have to fix that. She had new scars on her face, which somehow made her even hotter to him. Her hair caught the light of his fire and the mix of brown and red gave her hair an almost burgundy sheen that fascinated him and made him want to curl his fingers into those soft waves and yank her head back as he took her mouth.

He tried to adjust his pants to hide his growing erection; he didn't know if now was the time for that. But a bigger part of him didn't really care. When he got back it seemed like he had only been unconscious for a few minutes, tops. So it surprised him when Basso said he'd been gone a year. It was a strange feeling, that was for sure because he hadn't felt the passing of time. But watching Alia, her arms crossed under her breasts and her tight pants showing off her sweet ass made him feel like it had been more than a year since his hands had been on her skin. His fingers itched to take her clothes off and have her writing beneath him like before.

"Why is the primal in your eye?" She asked nonchalantly as if she were inquiring about the weather. She wasn't looking at him, instead she was slightly bent over his work table, looking at the new maps he had laid out for the job he was working on.

He took in a deep breath; trying not to obsess over her backside. "When I woke up it was like that. I think it happened with the mansion collapsed."

She nodded, turning from the table she leaned against a pillar. Her body language was stiff due to her nervousness. He recounted to her how he had woken up in the cart, found Basso and so on and so forth.

"How do you know about the primal?" He asked, raising a brow. He watched her anxiety kick in. She had a tendency to play with her hair when her nerves were shot; and now she had it all pulled to one side of her neck, running her hands through it over and over.

"Basso didn't tell you?" She asked quietly.

"No." He said simply. But it bothered him that Basso might have known something and didn't tell him. He made a mental note to ask him about her the next time he saw him.

She left her hair alone and went back to crossing her arms. "It's not much to be concerned about anyways. If you were that worried you would have been here." Her anger gave her a fresh wave of confidence to block out whatever it was that she was hiding from him.

He sighed. "Obviously, I do care. I've been looking for you since I got back. I didn't mean to just disappear but I didn't have much control of it." He snapped at her. He was sick of her acting like he just ran off of his own free will. He had let her have an attitude before but that shit was getting old really fast. He was back now, which made him the master and her the obedient student. His brain immediately went to darker places at the thought of her calling him master.

Her eyes narrowed at him, the storms in her gray irises raged at him angrily. "Either way, you were gone. I've been doing just fine without you. I don't even understand why you intervened back in that alley I had it under control." Her hands on her hips only provoked him more. He saw the way she shuddered at his touch when he pinned her to the wall. He still affected her just as much as she did him. That much hadn't changed. He knew there were important matters to take care of and discuss, but right now all he could think about was how silly it was that they were both still clothed when the sexual tension in the room was palpable.

"I'll remember that next time you're getting your ass kicked." He said, smirking at her playfully. He walked past her, acting as if he was putting his bow and tool belt away, but really he needed to close the distance between them. "Besides," He said offhandedly as he laid his tools on the table. "I'm not a fan of people touching my stuff." When she whirled around to face him he made sure that he was much closer than she thought. He loved surprising her, keeping her on edge. She opened her mouth to say something, but then closed it.

"Go ahead." He said, standing so close their bodies almost touched. "Say you don't belong to me." He dared her.

She had to crane her neck to look up at him with narrowed, angry eyes. "I don't belong to you, Garrett." She spat his name out as if it were poisonous. But the lust in her eyes was undeniable.

He cocked his head to the side as he brushed her hair from her shoulder, exposing the swell of her breasts that rose and fell quickly with her nervous breathing. "Don't you, though?" He said with a sneer. He knew that would piss her off, but it was all part of the game.

She pointed an angry finger in his face. "Now you listen here-" She started but he didn't let her finish. He grabbed her jaw roughly with one hand, and the other grabbed a handful of her backside, controling her movements as he backed her up across the room.

He swallowed her gasp with a hungry kiss, invading her mouth with his. She struggled against him, but he had control over most of her movements. He broke the kiss, loving the way her cheeks blushed from the contact.

"Let me go." She whimpered. But the husky tone of her voice didn't match her words.

"No. I'm a thief, remember?" He said as he skillfully unclasped her belt and threw it out of the way. "What I don't own," He growled into the side of her neck as he slid his hands down the front of her trousers, cupping her sex roughly. "I take." She was already so warm and wet as his fingers went to work tracing lazy, tempting circles around her clit.

Whatever fight she had in her for him melted. He released her jaw as her hands slid up his shirt and her head turned to catch his mouth with hers. He grinned against her lips; she was hungry too. Her hands slid up his body; and he couldn't help the moan as she ran her thumbs over his nipples while gripping his strong chest. She yelped in surprise when he pulled his hands from her to grab her ass and lift her to him. She wrapped her legs around his waist as he toppled onto the bed with her, and then he wasted no time and kissed her neck, just below her ear. She moaned as she undid the clasps on his pants, which he would be glad to get rid of. The tightness around his erection was getting painful. She slid his pants down off of his hips and wrapped her fingers around his cock. He twitched at the contact and groaned when she went down the base and stroked all the way to the head.

"Did you miss me?" He asked huskily into her hair. Her response was a heated kiss and faster strokes. He'd take that as a yes. He didn't bother with the buttons on her blouse, the fabric was thin so he just ripped it open so he could get to her breasts. He kissed his way from her neck down, and licked her nipple before taking it in her mouth. She moaned and ground her hips into his, whimpering when he nipped her. She tugged desperately at his clothes, so the next few seconds were a blur of fumbling fingers and flying fabric as they both worked quickly to get the other naked. Her mouth was hot on his skin as she rolled him to his back. He wound his fingers through her hair as she trailed kissed down his hard stomach with her hand still stroking him. He knew where she was headed, and yanked her head up to look at him.

"No time for that." He panted as he pulled her back to him. Although he loved getting his dick sucked as much as the next guy he really just needed to be inside of her. "Just ride me. Just fucking ride me." Her grin was sexy as hell as she threw her leg over him and tossed her hair over her shoulders. He sat up to meet her with a deep kiss, his hands running up her thighs to her hips. His fingers grazed across a prominent scar that he knew was from the bolt to the leg she took, trying to save his life. He cupped her breast with one hand while the other stroked her folds. Oh yes, she was wet enough for the both of them.

He broke the kiss and wrapped a long arm around her torso to grab a fistful of her hair. "Look at me." He commanded. Her lids were heavy with lust as her eyes met his under thick dark lashes. He took a second or two to take in her face. Her lips were swollen from being kissed and her cheeks were red. Her hair was already getting messy, and was in tangled waves down her back. There was a fading scar across the bridge of her nose and up by her brow. "You are so beautiful." He murmured as he pressed down on her hips, and almost lost himself watching her eyes close and her mouth open in silent ecstasy as she lowered herself onto him. He hissed as he felt his girth stretch her, her body accommodating for his. Every nerve in his body screamed to flip her onto her back and pound into her like an animal, but he relished watching her raise and lower herself around his cock. Hearing her breath hitch in her throat was sweet music to his ears. He dug his fingers into the flesh of her hips and rocked her back and forth, just like she liked it. She gasped and took over the motion herself, moaning every time she slid his dick over the sweet spot inside of her. He shook with anticipation beneath her, laying back on the bed to get a better view of her body. He couldn't wait to watch her come; he had to have it.

The sensitive nerves in his head sent a sizzling sensation all the way up his spine as she rocked back and forth, her motions become desperate as she got closer and closer to climax. Her breath was ragged and uneven as she hovered over the edge. He moaned and rolled his hips beneath her as he felt the tremors begin inside of her. He wanted her to come, he was so desperate to fuck her brains out. He slid a hand up her thigh and rubbed her clit with his thumb. It only took four strokes before her eyes went wide and her nails dug into his chest. "Garrett…" She moaned. "I'm gonna come." She whimpered weakly while her hips slammed into his stronger and faster, desperate. She cried out as her pussy clamped down on his cock like a vice and shuddered around him. He saw her stomach clench and then relax while she rode out the waves coursing through her.

As soon as she was coming down off of her high he hooked an elbow under her knee and rolled her, never letting their bodies become separated. His free had grabbed a handful of her hair as he kissed her mouth and drove into her mercilessly. She pulled her face away from him so she could breath as she gasped and moaned beneath him. "You're such a good girl." He praised her while her fingers grasped his back like a lifeline. He could feel the tingling at the base of his spine as his climax built inside of him like water getting hotter and hotter until it boils over. He could feel his eyes wanting to roll into the back of his head as he got closer and closer with each thrust.

He felt her fingers curl into his hair as she writhed beneath him, she was coming again, and the shudders around him would be what sealed the deal for him. His shoulders shook and his vision blurred while stars exploded behind his eyes. He buried himself inside of her to the hilt for the last few powerful strokes, filling her while his brain sizzled with pleasure. His hips twitched, the involuntary spasms rocking him were the best thing he'd ever felt. He panted into the soft flesh of her neck, planting small, delicate kisses as she struggled to catch her breath as well. He then propped himself onto his elbow, and brushed the hair from her face. Her eyes were glassy and her body was relaxed. She lazily met his gaze and he felt himself smiling as he kissed her lips. He slid himself from her and rolled to his side, keeping one arm around her to keep her close. She rested her head on his shoulder while he threw a blanket over the two of them.

"Get some sleep." He mumbled into the top of her head.

Garrett considered himself smart. No, highly intelligent even. You didn't get the title Master Thief by being stupid. Doing reckless, impulsive things was illogical. It's why he was still alive and the best at what he did. He would rather turn down a job than to fail or get caught. He didn't need validation from others, he knew what he could do and he did it well and made money from it.

But when it came to Alia he was a complete idiot. It wasn't smart to let himself get caught up in a pretty girl with great tits. Especially when that girl was a complete bafoon sometimes and had a strange need to prove herself.

She stretched beside him, her body relaxing into the rhythm of sleep. She seemed like she was exhausted.

But he was caught up. He had let her work her dark magic on him and now he craved her like an addict with their opium. He knew it was a bad idea to get involved with her. But he did it anyway. He let himself be charmed by her smiles and her witty humor, and not to mention she was a dangerous kind of beautiful that sucked him in even more. He'd be a liar if he said he didn't want to fuck her the moment he saw her; after all he was a man and men had needs. But before he passed out over a year ago he was slowly being wound around her fingers; like a love struck school boy. And it seemed like they were just picking up where they left off. For fucks sake he had told her that she belonged to him. Which as far as he was concerned she did. But that didn't make it smart. Or right. He was supposed to teach her the ropes and cut her loose. He looked down at her sleeping form curled up next to him and stifled a laugh at how terrible of a job he was doing.

He sighed and closed his eyes as the sun began to peek through the window on the floor above them; pushing away his racing thoughts. He can worry about how dumb he was later. For now, he wanted to forget all the shit happening around him and enjoy sleeping next to her.


End file.
